Most people are aware of the vaccines to COVID-19 being available by now. What some people don’t realize is the difficulty of obtaining the vaccines. On December 28th, the first wave of vaccines, 1a, came to places like Walgreens and CVS, according to www.lakecountyil.gov. On January 25th, the 1b vaccines came to “local hospitals, healthcare providers, pharmacies, and other partners” for distribution. With the limited amount of vaccines available, many people within these groups have been scrambling to get their vaccine, causing a demand that makes it near impossible to actually schedule an appointment in a timely fashion.                              

Jordan Addison, English teacher, received his vaccine on January 30th, after having a hard time scheduling the appointment for the vaccine, to begin with,

“[The process for scheduling] was really irritating because you have to refresh like 1000 times to get an appointment,” Addison said. “I got lucky. I scored my appointment [at Rush Hospital in Chicago], but by the time I had run across the hallway to tell the other teachers about it and gotten back [the appointments] were all gone.” 

Similarly, Emily Sutton, Spanish teacher, says she struggled to get an appointment., Though after she did get an appointment, Sutton went to Condell Hospital in Libertyville for her appointment on January 26th and said the actual process of receiving the vaccine was relatively simple.

“They were very well organized over at Condell. They had all the vaccines set up in a conference room. They check you in, and at one table, they will take your temperature before you enter and ask you a bunch of questions about if you have any symptoms, all that jazz,” Sutton said. “You get your vaccine [at one of] the several tables and then you get a little card that says when and where you got your first dose. [After,] I was immediately able to sign up for my second dose which was awesome.” 

Addison was equally as happy about his appointment, noticing different aspects of the process of getting his vaccine than Sutton did.

“I felt like all the people who were administering the shots were qualified because they were all medical doctors or nurses,” Addison said. “I was excited to get it because so many people, even teachers that I work with here have not been able to get appointments, until like late in February or March at the earliest. So, I feel really lucky that I was able to go so quickly.” 

Both have an overruling sense of relief relating to their appointments, despite any difficulties they experienced through the process. Sutton especially appreciates the “pure luck” of getting the appointment and feels the impact that this vaccine has had.

“I wanted to cry a little bit because obviously it’s been a very long year for everybody so I felt like I could breathe a little bit more. A huge sense of relief,” Sutton said. “Obviously I’m desperate to have all my loved ones vaccinated as well, but we’re getting there.” 

Despite the delays and high demand, the vaccine is continuing to be supplied and the 1c wave is planned to be available March 29th.

“I think the vaccine is finally a light at the end of this dark and long tunnel,” Sutton said. “I know that it’s going to take a long time to get everyone vaccinated and some people will choose not to get the vaccine and that’s their choice, but I am so grateful that it is finally here and we can finally start to move forward and have a little bit of progress.”