Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

This afternoon, Lisa and I got our flu shots and the new COVID vaccine. It was so new that the local Walgreens only received it this morning, and they'd initially called to tell me that they wouldn't be able to give me a vaccination for which I'd made an appointment because they didn't have it, but then they called me back later to say that we should come in after all.

We were there early for our 4:45 PM appointment, with our paperwork filled out and signed. We checked in and waited. Around 5 PM, someone came with blank versions of the same paperwork that we'd already submitted, but at least in that case someone called him back saying that they already had it. We got our shots (one in each arm) around 5:20, and hung around as they asked for around ten minutes. That was not a problem as we had some shopping to do there anyway.

This is our sixth COVID vaccination. I'm glad they were authorized and distributed now, because I leave for the Chengdu Worldcon on October 14, and this will give the vaccinations time to get to full effectiveness, I hope.

As I mentioned at the time, Lisa and I got our fifth COVID-19 shots a couple of weeks ago. The pain in our shoulders had subsided, so it was time to get flu shots as well.

I made appointments for 5:45 and 6:00 PM (the last two slots of the day) at Walgreens yesterday, and we left the house with plenty of time to arrive fifteen minutes before the first appointment. Or rather, it would have been enough if there hadn't been a large traffic accident at a place that caused a traffic snarl from one end of Fernley to the other. That is, the entire length of the I-80 Business route (which admittedly is only a couple of miles) from Exit 46 through downtown and coming the other way down US-95A from Exit 48. Seeing the problem, we traveled "wrong way around" by going out onto Interstate 80, then when we realized that the trouble had backed up from Exit 48 onto the freeway, we went past it to the next exit and came back around, parked at Wal-Mart, and walked to Walgreens. That meant we were a little late, but it did not matter as it happened.

We got our shots, and by the time we got done, the accident had cleared and traffic had lightened up somewhat. It was not a big deal to walk back to the Astro — the walk was probably good for us.

Today I feel vaguely out of sorts, which I put down to the vaccine kicking my immune system into gear. But I'll gladly trade one day of feeling tired and achy against coming down with a full-blown flu. I do intend to go to SMOFCon in Montreal at the start of December, so I want to protect myself and also everyone with whom I interact.