Last Night I Received My First Shot of The Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine

It was a well-organized and efficient operation

I booked the date and time for the shot for my wife and me a week earlier, online. At the time of booking, we were also given the date and time for our second shots which will be three and a half months later.

The location for the big event was the Nepean Sportsplex in the west end of Ottawa, Canada.

The Sportsplex is a huge facility with indoor space for sports including ice hockey, curling, swimming, and a gym. There are also two huge halls which can be rented for meetings and other events.

The two halls were combined into one for the distribution of the vaccines.

Our appointments were for 8:40 p.m.

This was no 9 to 5 operation. They were working into the evening to get as many people as possible vaccinated.

Senior citizens are one of the groups being given priority and we fall into this category.

When we arrived, a man at the entrance to the parking lot — free parking — told us to wait in our car. The time of our appointment will be announced and we can then enter the building.

We spoke to five different individuals before getting our jabs.

We showed our confirmations, answered various questions, and then waited our turn for the shot.

We were told that our family doctors would be informed that we received our first shots. It was all done electronically. Very impressive! I know it’s the 21st century, but still very impressive.

An emergency doctor gave us our shots.

The person who gave us our jabs was an emergency doctor. Last night, he was working as a medical technician to assist in vaccinating the public.

I confirmed with him that we would be receiving the Pfizer vaccine. He told us that all the vaccines were good. My wife and I have a different opinion but did not enter into a discussion with him about it. We were just happy that we were receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

We had to wait for fifteen minutes after receiving our vaccines before we could leave.

As we left, someone at the exit checked our names on her tablet and told us that we were being emailed our receipts even as we spoke to her. These receipts are proof that we received our first shots. We will have to present these when we go for our second dose.

This was a well-organized and efficient operation by the City of Ottawa. I congratulate everyone involved in getting this done.

My wife and I are grateful that we received our first shots and that it was the Pfizer vaccine, which in our opinion, is one of the better ones available.