So just got back from securing a second dose for me and my wife. First we went with Walgreens, where we’ve gotten our other vaccines. Apparently this was a mistake. My wife checked in for us and handed them our cards showing we had received one bivalent already. As soon as I saw the pharmacist that would be administering our shots I could just tell he was going to be a problem.
“So you’ve already got the bivalent so you’re good. You won’t need another dose until the fall. They’ll be a combo flu/Covid shot then.” My wife said “we’re both immune compromised and we would like to be as protected as possible. We need additional protection due to our medical conditions.” (This is partly a lie. My wife has a weakened immune system but I don’t.) “Well what health conditions do you have? We follow the CDC guidelines, only immune compromised individuals or people over 65+ can get a second dose.” I then assertively, but perhaps mistakenly, said “our doctors want us to get another booster, you don’t need to know more than that”. The pharmacist counters with “well he can give it to you. I don’t just hand out vaccines.” Boom. There it was. I could see he saw himself as the czar of his own little pharma island and he was going to make it everyone else’s problem. I could show him every study on waning immunity and protection there was. Wouldn’t matter. Some people just don’t want to budge.
We left with my wife nearly in tears. She felt that the pharmacist was intentionally trying to embarrass us. I don’t know but can say for sure he had a poor attitude. Immediately I get on my phone and book an appointment at CVS across the street. Didn’t prefill any forms. Didn’t say we were immune compromised. Didn’t bring our cards. When we got there all I said was “Hello! We’re here for shots.” Pharmacist said she’d be out in a minute. Sat down. Shots in arms immediately. We chit chatted about weekend plans and video games. She couldn’t have been more pleasant. “Thank you for getting your vaccines!” was all she said before we left. No papers to sign. All they asked for was our insurance cards beforehand.
I guess the moral of the story is play dumb or lie. Don’t volunteer too much info. Do what you need to do. No one is going to deal with the repercussions if you get Covid/long Covid except you and your loved ones. You might get turned away but capitalism has plopped a pharmacy on every corner. Use it to your advantage. These are businesses. They sell beer and cigarettes. Your health isn’t their true concern. But don’t lose hope. Once you get a shot they can’t take it away.
Now I’m curled up on the couch with my wife and our cat. I’ll be playing the new Zelda game while she watches trash tv all weekend. We’ll forget about the weird little pharmacist with the napoleon complex, at least until it’s time for our next shot lol. We’ll just keep doing what we need to do to stay safe. Good luck to you all.
