Taking my Shot

On April 3, I got my second COVID vaccination shot at the Edith Kanaka'ole Tennis Stadium in Hilo. While availability and accessibility varies from place to place, here’s how it went down in Hilo Town…

In the beginning, vaccines were only offered to people 65 years and over. Later, it opened up to people who were required to have close contact with others for work purposes. Because I have a part time gig at the YMCA teaching Dance Fitness and Zumba, the county approved me for the priority list.

Once approved I went to the VAMS website, confirmed my identity and eligibility, and got a list of locations offering the shot. I chose the tennis stadium since I heard they’re organized and quick. (No Yelp reviews , just world of mouth.) 

After choosing a date and location, I got an email confirmation with a QR Code. I got additional emails leading up to my shot for an online survey and a form to print out and bring to the stadium. 

At the stadium, there was a series of stations to go through to check different things including my:

• Form (They had bank forms for people who didn’t have them.)
• QR Code
• ID / health insurance card
• Information in their database

I’m not sure why they couldn’t do all that at a single checkpoint, but I guess they wanted to spread people out to prevent bottlenecking. Anyway, I took my shot and waited in a holding area for 15 minutes where volunteers answered questions and set up follow up appointments (if needed). Here's a summary of my two shots:

1st Shot - March 13

• Approximately 4,000 shots given that day.
• Time from parking my car to getting my shot: 20 minutes.
• During the shot: I screamed.
• Side effects: My arm hurt for 2 days.

2nd Shot - April 3

• Approximately 5,000 shots given that day, including people 16 years and older. 
• Time from parking my car to getting my shot: 15 minutes.
• During the shot: I cried.
• Side effects: 
  • My arm hurt for 2 days.
  • The next morning I felt a little weird, but went to the gym and taught class.
  • In the afternoon I felt a feverish, so I took Tylenol and a nap, and I was ok after that.

The County of Hawai`i continues to provide vaccines at various locations including supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics and the stadium. The next scheduled vaccination at the stadium is April 24, and I hear they anticipate giving 6,000 vaccines. Go Hilo!