My Experience as a COVID Vaccinator
Written By: Katherine Tieu, third-year student pharmacist
As I walked toward the hospital, I clutched an iced americano in one hand and face shield in the other, my white coat and Johns Hopkins badge flapping in the warm spring wind behind me. This is how most vaccine clinic mornings started. What would have been my hospital rotation suddenly became a Johns Hopkins COVID clinic, and instead of having a “normal” pharmacy intern experience, I became part of the massive public health response to this pandemic.
One Memorable Day
On one memorable 2021 day, my role is immunizer at Turner Center, one of the many mass vaccination sites that were part of Johns Hopkins’ effort to vaccinate the Baltimore community.
As I sanitize my station, I see a stream of eager people lining up to be checked in. Picking up the pace, I jog to the vaccine table to grab one of the many pre-filled syringes and hastily introduce myself to the pharmacist-on-duty.
I greet the next patient in line and tell her to follow me to my station. I can see her bright smile even behind her mask. We sit down, and I start asking the routine pre-screening questions to confirm she is eligible for the COVID vaccination.
After the questionnaire, I ask for her vaccination card, and she hands me a crinkled white card. I neatly affix her second dose sticker and initial the letters “JHU.” This was always one of my favorite parts because it meant one more person we protected during the pandemic.
When I return her card, she thanks me for being part of this clinic, and my morning tiredness immediately dissipates, and my cheeks get warm. Although I am only a student, the patient’s words remind me that my efforts during these clinics contribute to a much larger picture of advancing the community’s health.
Different Clinics, New Experiences
Each clinic day was different and offered new learning experiences for me since I never worked with the same team and rotated clinic locations. My most memorable experiences were clinics at Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and O’Donnell Heights Boys & Girls Club.
KKI was very different from our typical clinic. First, the clinic location itself was in a parking garage and second, we served a unique patient population of children with neurological disorders. Not only was this the most fun clinic, but it was also the most rewarding because I was able to work alongside the skillful team members of KKI. Despite the sweltering hot weather in the summer of 2021, everyone stayed positive and dedicated to the mission of vaccinating this vulnerable population. I may not encounter this kind of clinic again in my career, so I was very grateful to participate.
The O’Donnell Heights Boys & Girls Club clinic landed me in an unfamiliar part of Baltimore County. The clinic team I collaborated with here was the most memorable because they illustrated how all the professions in health care could come together to make a meaningful difference during the pandemic. I had the privilege of working with physicians, traveling nurses, and interpreters to vaccinate a “hard-to-reach” community. Many of the patients only spoke Spanish, so with the interpreters’ help, I learned how to communicate and educate this population about the importance of vaccinations despite the language barrier.
Although the pandemic has been difficult for everyone, I have been given one of the greatest learning opportunities in my young career during this time. I would like to thank all my preceptors at Johns Hopkins and the other amazing professionals I met along the way for this humbling and priceless chance to touch many lives in the Baltimore community.