We Got Our 1st Pfizer Vaccines!

In my last post I touched on the Covid 19 vaccination situation here in Panamá. At that time, we knew that Craig would be able to get the Pfizer vaccine since he is over 60 years old. They opened things up in our province of Chiriquí a few weeks ago, however we needed to wait until it was time for Boquete district. This past week there was mass vaccine distribution of the Pfizer vaccine at the local schools. Craig had his appointment on Thursday and I went along to see if they would allow me to receive one. I am under 60 by 1 year and 2 weeks. I’ve read some online posts saying that they knew of people under 60 who had gotten vaccinated so I thought I would take a stab at it! Craig’s appointment was at the school in Bajo Boquete close to where we are living. There was no line to speak of. I was very hopeful that it would happen. Alas when they saw that I was 2 weeks short of 59, they turned me down and told me I would have to go to the David Fairgrounds to get the AstraZeneca. I had signed up on the website to receive the AstraZeneca but hadn’t received an appointment time yet. The next day friends of ours called and told us about a possible opportunity to get the Pfizer shot at the school in El Francis south of us. Minsa was trying to round people up to receive the shot. Apparently, they had extra and looking for volunteers but we needed to get down there quickly (maybe because it was a Friday afternoon?) Exceeding the speed limit, we rushed down there. Fingers crossed, I got in line and they led me along from checkpoint to checkpoint. There was a moment where I thought my age would be an issue once again, but they made it happen. After they filled out my paperwork, I was seated with a socially-distanced grouping of 6 chairs. The nurse went from person to person and when all 6 of us received our shots, we were led into another room to sit and wait 15 minutes in the event we had any side effects. Exiting the door, Craig was outside waiting for me with umbrella in hand to escort me to the car. The next day I had a little soreness in my arm but no other side effects.

We’re off for little beach get-away for a few days at Playa Barqueta. Feeling relieved and hopeful. Loving life, what a great feeling.