COVID Vaaccine Chronicles, grabbing a couple powerful stories

 RantWoman offers the following extremely modest efforts to support the general campaigns to get people in WA vaccinated against COVID 19 as well as some very piquant, poignant, and painful accounts of others' experiences. (RantWoman has been falling down on the job; maybe she should just repost things from her email; RantWoman has opted to digest which most sticks out to her.)

First, for general information about all things COVID in King County start with King County COVID info 

Second, the WA Department of Health now has a process where people can apply to have the vaccine come to their homes. For more information: WA Department of Health Home-Based Vaccination Form

RantWoman this morning was on a Zoom call with the King County Disability Consortium. 

On one hand, there were stories of people with limited English and  people with disabilities feeling disrespected and interrogated in the course of getting vaccinated. There were cultural misunderstandings. There was lack of awareness about reasons people cannot wear masks and might wear face shield instead, the sort of circumstances that make it hard to go back to one's communities and reassure others who might be hesitant about vaccines or fearful in general.

There was also appreciation of King County striving to get things right. And there were two stories of really getting things right, both involving special very detailed efforts to serve people with disabilities. There were so many measures mentioned that RantWoman lost track of all of them: low-stimulation space, water and food available during the waiting period after the shots, fidget toys, extra seating for people who could not stand, interpreters, an area where people could just pace.

One young man on the autism spectrum was deathly afraid of needles. People administering the shot were able to be patient while he settled down to prepare. Finally, he said "just do it." As soon as the shot was done, he was on the phone to his grandmother. He reportedly said "I did it for you, Grandma!"

The second case was even more poignant. The last time the young man had ordinary immunizations at Children's Hospital, it took 5 adults to restrain him so he could be given the shots. At the COVID vaccine administration site, there was space where he could just pace. After he settled into a rhythm of walking in circles, on one circle around the space, the nurse swabbed his arm with alcohol. On the next time around, he got the shot very quickly without incident.

RantWoman wants to offer a shoutout to the two young men above, and a shout-out in whatever form they and their families can appreciated. RantWoman has personal experience with situations where identities are supposed to be confidential but after awhile everyone in town knows the story. RantWoman wants the young men to know it's a good story and hopes they have more good stories ahead of them because there probably will also be bad stories ahead to and if the can handle COVID shots, they can probably handle other things, things they should not have to handle.

This level of care takes a lot longer than the 7 people per hour pace at many locations, but it also ensures that people in very vulnerable populations can do their part in support of herd immunity.