A better way to vaccinate in Garco?

I got on the Garfield County COVID-19 vaccine list early, and I was pleased — not to mention grateful — when I received a call on Jan. 19, telling me to come in at noon the next day and roll up my sleeve.

When I arrived at Valley View Hospital, the scene was well organized and orderly. Helpful volunteers and staff members got the crowd of masked inoculation candidates socially distanced in a long line extending down one hall and then another.

Finally we were admitted to a large room filled with registration tables and nurses with needles. Everything proceeded smoothly, and after I got my shot and a Tweety Bird Band-aid, I was directed to a waiting area at the far end of the room, for 30 minutes of “observation.” And it was at this moment that it hit me: I was in a roomful of people, in the middle of a pandemic. I didn’t want to catch the virus while I was getting a vaccination for it.

I stepped outside onto a patio and sat down in the warm sunshine, reflecting that it would have been possible to conduct this whole exercise outdoors. While COVID-19 numbers are down somewhat locally, new cases and deaths nationwide continue to increase at an alarming rate, as new, more infectious COVID-19 variants emerge. My group was mainly seniors, which is to say individuals at a greater risk from the corona. Why would you administer these vaccinations inside a closed building?

Maybe there’s a better way.

Ed Colby

New Castle