March 23, 2021. Madison, Mississippi. The Vaccine.

The day was horrible but Kashina and I had no choice but to get into the car and launch out into the elements, which were miserable. The rain was falling hard and the wind was whipping the trees and the rain making us unable to see what we were going. But we had a mission. The appointment for my first vaccine shot was at 8:45 and the Krogers grocery store on the other side of the spillway. Kashina is fearful of driving beside water but today she was forced to not only drive beside the reservoir but also drive through heavy rain and wind. In Mississippi, people often wait out a bad storm but we could not want to miss my appointment, so we just kept going. The process was smooth, from beginning to end. Cristina booked my appointment on line. The closest location to me was Krogers Pharmacy so she booked it for me. At the same time they made an appointment for the second shot at the same location. Yesterday I received an email reminding me of my appointment and giving instructions, such as wear short sleeves and bring identification and medicair card. When we arrived, there were people standing waiting just outside the pharmacy. They told us that they had already gotten their shors but they were required to stay 20 minutes to check for adverse side effets. We walked past all those folks and sat right infront of the counter where you check in for the shot. I took a seat but three minutes later they called my name, where I registered. They took my ID, and my medicair card. Another two minutes and I was ushered into the office for the shot, which took one minute. The young man gave me a card saying that I had the vaccine with instructions to wait 20 minutes, which we ignored. I was leaving the grocery store at 9:00. Pretty good service. Mississippi has administered almost 1.5 million Covid vaccine shots, which for a small state is a lot. The whole process was effieient. As of 10 days ago, the US has innoculated 22% of the population. I belive the end is in sight.