Got the first shot of the Moderna vaccine!

Unexpected adventure. Here’s what happened. 1/n

01/28, 10:45pm
We’re falling asleep. K’s cell phone rings. It’s her friend Rosemary, a nurse. There has been a freezer failure at the hospital. 2/n

To avoid having to throw them away, 1,600 doses will be injected. University Hospital. First come, first served. 3/n

We get dressed and leave home as quickly as we can. We are at the hospital at 11:10pm. We are not quite sure if we are in the right spot, but there is a line of about 25 people outside the entrance. Encouraging. 4/n

As we get closer, a security officer asks “Are you here for the vaccine?” “Yes.” “You can join the line here.” Maybe we’ll be lucky! 5/n

11:30pm. We’ve made it inside the hospital. We’ve been given a “Screened” sticker. A nurse tells us that everyone who got the sticker will be able to get the vaccine. We are so excited! Just a matter of waiting in line. Here we are. 6/n

A very long line route has been set up, snaking through corridors, looping in opposite directions along one, and circling around elevator banks. It is slow, but everyone is patient and pretty good at keeping distances. 7/n

01/29 1:15am. We get our shots! We are asked to wait for 15 minutes before going home to check if there is any immediate bad reaction. Nothing of that sort. We’re back home at 2am. Tired, but so happy. 8/n

We took the first step toward returning to normal life. The first step toward the Hideout Between the Chestnut Trees! 9/9

PS: THANK YOU, ROSEMARY! WE LOVE YOU!