Fairfax County Covid Vaccines

Finally! On Sunday I had my first covid vaccine, and I was ecstatic about it. My husband just received his second vaccine two days before and was feeling some of the side effects from it - mostly achy muscles and tired. He got his vaccine through the Virginia Hospital Center and was in a different age group. I got on the Fairfax County wait list around January 18, and waited impatiently for the email appointment “invitation” that arrived a couple of weeks after that. Luckily the weather cooperated in spite of the snow, ice and sleet. It would have been disappointing to have the visit cancelled. The entire process from start to finish was seamless in spite of the huge crowd. The worst part was the drive to the Fairfax government center as we had never been there before. But once we were in the parking lot it was unbelievable. The logistics could not have been better thought out. In the parking lot you wait until they notify you via text based on your appointment time, then you sign in, then they contact you when it is time to enter the building. From there you show the text message, sign in, then are guided to the vaccine rooms, get the shot, then guided to the wait area for 15 minutes, then leave. There were so many volunteers to help, assist, guide, smile at, make the experience so very pleasant. Now I need to wait for the second email “invitation” for the second Pfizer dose and then need to schedule again. Hopefully it will go as smoothly as the first one did. After a year of hibernation, it was a psychologically uplifting experience. I feel privileged to have gotten a dose knowing that so many who want it can’t have it yet. It will be so nice when the second dose is done.