By Sahar Chmais
Some have cried, given out fist bumps or taken selfies to document the moment; this is the emotional rollercoaster many people experience when they get a chance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
There was even a couple who walked in, wearing their thoughts on their shirts that said “old lives matter.”
“A lot of people have had this huge amount of relief after getting their first shot,” explained Scott Robinson, the battalion chief for San Marcos Hays County EMS. “They know there’s a level of protection they can benefit from.”
Hays County, designated as a vaccine hub, has already served thousands of Texans with its weekly vaccine allotments, and will continue giving vaccines for the foreseeable future. But getting the vaccine out of its -70 degree chamber and into the people’s arms takes a lot of behind the scene efforts from volunteers.
San Marcos Hays County EMS is one of the many healthcare systems in the county that has put its employees on the vaccinating front line. Robinson walked the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch through the journey.
Most importantly, since these vaccines are still in scarce supply and they must be used once thawed out, no dose goes to waste. If a person does not show up on his or her scheduled date, at the end of the day, the dose will go to somebody else.
Finding someone else has never been an issue. At every vaccine clinic, there has been a line of people waiting, in case one may be selected for any leftover doses. Having a no-show is not a common occurrence, but it does happen, Robinson said.
Sometimes it is because somebody has signed up for his or her vaccine at multiple facilities and find an earlier opening, he added.
People have been flocking to COVID-19 vaccine clinics because they are scared, Robinson said. They have been hearing statistics shared by the media, listening to the need for ventilators and off-site hospitalizations. And the elderly population is especially worried because they know age is not in their favor, he said.
To ensure that high-risk individuals continue to stay safe, these clinics have been following a stringent regimen of six-foot distancing, mask-wearing and sanitizing. Volunteers have been following these rules along with wearing goggles, changing gloves between patients and frequent hand-washing. And after the clinic is closed, the San Marcos Hays County EMS sprays down the building with anti-microbial spray machines to ensure no microbes are left behind.
These clinics also make patients wait 15 to 30 minutes after receiving their vaccine in case of any reaction. So far, Robinson said there has been zero reaction, but the EMS volunteers are more than equipped to handle these situations.
No time goes to waste; during monitoring time, patients get scheduled for their second vaccine appointment.
Hays County is circling back to its first set of patients to give them their second dose; those who were involved in the first round in San Marcos were to receive their doses the week of Feb. 15, the following week will go to those who received their vaccines in Kyle and so on. However, those time slots have been delayed due to the weather. At this time, those who received their shots in San Marcos are now scheduled for the week of Feb. 22.
Governmental and non-governmental employees have been signing up to help vaccinate. There are typically about 80 volunteers on-site at every clinic, Robinson said.
“It takes a lot of people to vaccinate a lot of people,” Robinson said. “And it’s really refreshing to see this many folks interested and wanting to get us back to whatever level of normalcy we can get back to.”
Interested in volunteering? Visit www.hayscountycert.com.
