Thread by @StephenGutowski

Just got the alert I can volunteer for another mass vaccination event this coming Saturday. I marked myself as available for another 12-hour shift. I hope I get deployed again.

I'm volunteering through my local Medical Reserve Corps. The program is run through HHS and they take both medical and non-medical volunteers (like me). You can find your local MRC here: mrc.hhs.gov/FindMRC

I definitely encourage all of you to volunteer as well. Even if you don't have any medical training (again like me), you can contribute. Anything can help.

We administered 5,000 vaccinations at the first event. I was impressed by how smoothly it went. Although, it did take almost 3 hours longer than it was scheduled to take. So, hopefully, the pace can be increased going forward.

I also hope Fairfax County starts scheduling more of these events each week. 1.1 million people live here so we're going to need to deliver a lot of vaccinations to end this pandemic as fast as we possibly can.

The events are appointment-only and are focused on vaccinating CDC group 1A folks right now. That's medical professionals and nursing home residents. It seemed to be mainly medical professionals on Saturday which is probably part of why it went smoothly despite delays.

It feels like things may run smoother as volunteers and health department staff get more experience running the events but the events will also probably get a bit bumpier as they start to include more of the general public. I guess we'll see how that balances out.

At the first event, I mainly worked the holding area people were sent to after they received their vaccine shot. The idea is to watch everyone for 15 to 30 minutes to make sure they don't have an allergic reaction or any other adverse effect.

The vast majority of people had no reaction at all. There were a small number of people who felt woozy or nauseous. EMS was there to make sure they were ok. I didn't see anyone who had to be taken for any further help than that, though. I didn't see any serious reactions.

After the scheduled patients were given their shots, the event had leftovers so Volunteers were given the vaccine. I would have given the shot I got to one of my grandparents if I could've but the alternative was just letting it go to waste.

There is no guarantee that if you volunteer to help with one of these vaccination events you will get a shot. It wasn't even mentioned as a possibility when I signed up to help. Don't take my example, where leftover shots were given instead of letting them spoil, as an absolute.

I do think giving out any leftover vaccine doses after the priority group for the event has been given their shots is the smartest policy. Give it to literally anyone around who can safely take it and is willing to. Not a single dose of these vaccines should ever go to waste.

This is the way out of the hell we've been living in for nearly a year. Get shots in arms. Prioritize the most vulnerable but never let a single shot go to waste. I'm glad to do anything, no matter how small, to help with that effort.

The volunteers I worked directly alongside were a great bunch. All different ages. Upbeat and ready to serve. There were hundreds of other volunteers who did great work as well. It was an honor to be a part of that kind of incredible effort. I hope I get to do it many more times.