Well, it was finally my turn, right when 33% of people in the USA had been vaccinated. I registered on the portal on February 26, and on April 5, I received an invitation for vaccination. I was surprised that I could even make an appointment for the same day. No demand?
I arrived at the appointed time, and there was the parking at Dulles Town Center — a shopping center — completely packed. Muscovites might not understand, but I haven’t had to circle around looking for parking like this for years. I parked, and outside there was a line about 200 meters long, but it moved quickly – people were constantly walking in. Soon I was inside.
The shopping center — at least its first floor — was repurposed into a vaccination site. First, you approach one of the desks, where they check your appointment time and if you’re on the list. They give you a card, and you take this card to one of the desks with nurses.
All three vaccines — Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and J&J — are available. I received Pfizer-BioNTech. As I understand, it’s the most common one they use.
After the shot, you are given 15 or 30 minutes to sit in a special area. If allergic reactions begin to occur, it often happens right after the shot, and there they can provide first aid. As someone who is not allergic, they told me to sit for 15 minutes, after which I went to find my car.
The conveyor-belt system is very cleverly organized. In the area where I sat, there were about 70 other people. Many walked through this area, thinking they might as well sit in a traffic jam on the way out. If the area fits 70 people (each sitting for 15 minutes), it means they are vaccinating about 250-300 people per hour, or a couple thousand a day.
Registering for vaccination is strictly through the website or phone. That is, the organizers manage the traffic: exactly as many people as the place can handle will show up.
As I understand, they recently green-lighted everyone over 16 years old, and people are happy to go get vaccinated. It seems that we’ll get to 70% of the population vaccinated with at least one dose by June 15, and up to 90% by June 22.
I also include two photos from the GUM, where Nadia got vaccinated with Sputnik. In Russia, of course, there isn’t such a fuss. Vaccinations are only needed by those who believe in them and those who haven’t fallen ill. How such a large number of educated people can not believe in them — I cannot understand.
It is worth saying that among all our acquaintances in the USA, only a few have had COVID-19. While almost everyone we know in Russia had it at some time. Health to all those who haven’t yet, and — get vaccinated. At least you’ll be able to travel normally and there will be fewer restrictions.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 