I Walked 15 Blocks in a Blizzard to Get Vaccinated

And I’m One of the Lucky Ones

Photo by author. Used with my permission.

I know several seniors who were scheduled to get vaccinated, but didn’t end up getting their shot. Everything was good to go — until the facility ran out of vaccine.

My pal Marcy drove for an hour to get to her appointment. Just as she was pulling into the hospital parking lot, the hospital texted to say the appointment had been cancelled.

So I knew that the fact that I was scheduled to get my second shot at 2:30 on Thursday at the Rite Aid on City Avenue didn’t mean that would necessarily happen.

Especially since a big snowstorm would be hitting Philadelphia that day.

Back in December when I’d scheduled the appointment, I had no idea what the weather would be up to on February 18th. All I knew is that, at 66, I could schedule a shot. And that, because of the pandemic, I hadn’t seen my grandchildren, who live in California, in almost a year.

I would have crawled on my hands and knees through hail, ice, sleet, lighting bolts and blizzards to get that jab in my arm.

On Wednesday, I phoned the pharmacy to see if I could come in a day early. Because, after all, a major winter storm was about to hit the area. No dice. But I was told that if I was there early on…