Don't know where to get vaccinated? You're one click away from finding out

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

I just got my first COVID-19 vaccination in Hopkinsville.

From registering with the Christian County Health Department online to the jab, the whole process couldn't have gone smoother or easier.

Like a lot of Kentucky seniors-I turned 71 in December-I'd been seeking a spot for a shot.  

I discovered my spot online via the "Team Kentucky" website.

Click here to find out the vaccination site in your neck of the woods. Signing up on the webpage takes just a few minutes. 

There's also a helpline-(855) 598-2246-plus a COVID-19 Hotline (800) 722-5725 where you can get general COVID-19 vaccine questions answered.

"The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) supports Governor Andy Beshear’s prioritization of health care as a basic human right and believes every Kentucky family deserves to see a doctor and receive treatment," says the webpage.

"Recognizing that COVID-19-related deaths currently rank third among causes of death in Kentucky, KDPH is planning for the equitable distribution of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine that will advance Governor Beshear’s healthcare priority. Vaccine distribution details, including the number of doses and allocation plan, are expected to change frequently. Please visit this page for regular updates."

My wife, Melinda, a retired teacher who still subs, got her shot last month in Mayfield, where she taught for 36 years.

We live in Arlington, in Carlisle County, where we moved from Mayfield. So I got on waiting lists in Carlisle and Graves County. Our son, who lives in Louisville, got me a Feb. 21 appointment in the Falls City.

Hoping to get a vaccination sooner and closer, I went to the "Team Kentucky" website and, immediately saw shots were available in Hopkinsville. I signed up to get stuck on Feb. 6 with other over-70s. 

So we drove about 100 miles east to the State Sen. James E. Bruce Convention Center, where the health department had set up shop.

Anticipating long lines like you see on TV, we arrived at 1 p.m., 15 minutes before my appointment.

There were no lines or bottlenecks as a receptionist in the lobby efficiently directed everybody to tables with letters of the alphabet that coincided with the first letter of your last name. I was at the table for "Cs" in less than a minute.

I didn't have to wait until 1:15. The woman at the table checked my information sheet, handed me a card for a March 4 booster shot-same time and place-and waved me on back to a nurse.

She had me roll up my left sleeve and plunged the needle home. I barely felt it. She stuck a yellow cartoon circus band-aid on my arm, and I was ready to go in minutes.

So kudos to the Beshear administration down to the Christian County Health Department staffers. I went home a very grateful codger.

A footnote: Despite many months of masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and avoiding crowds, Melinda and I got COVID in December. We have no idea where, how or when. 

Medical authorities say people who mask and take the other precautions against COVID almost always get a milder case because the mask keeps you from getting that "big viral" load that can land you in the hospital or kill you.

Anyway, we were lucky enough to beat COVID at home.

We're still wearing masks, keeping our social distance and slathering our mitts with sanitizer and soap. We plan to keep it up to our second shot and beyond-until Dr. Fauci and the other experts say it's safe to stop. 

"Any day your spend above ground beats heck out of the alternative," Daddy often said.  

I'll add a Presbyterian Church (USA) "amen" to that.