Monthly Highlights | December 2021

I received my third vaccination shot this month at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe, Saipan.

Upon arriving around 9:00 AM, I was instructed to head down to the last tent situated outdoors right next to the Multi-Purpose Center. There were about three large tents around with benches marked with X’s to indicate that at least two individuals were able to sit at the ends of each bench.

The first couple of minutes went by okay, but as I was finally right next to the building to enter, it began raining buckets. The rain thankfully didn’t fully reach me within the tent, but it wasn’t the same for those already waiting in line right outside the building. Eventually, the rain subsided when I was minutes away from entering the building.

When I entered, I was led to a window to check-in. I informed them I was there for my booster shot, and the employee asked for my vaccine card and asked if I had an appointment that day. I found it surprising because I thought everyone in line would’ve had an appointment that day, hence being in line in the first place. I then prepared my vaccination ID, which was emailed to me after registering, and asked if they needed it, and surprisingly again, they said “no.” I don’t understand the purpose of registering online and receiving confirmation only to not have it be asked upon the date of the appointment.

I was then asked what vaccine I wanted to get, and I asked in return if they had any Pfizer in stock. Happily, he said they did. Days ago, people mentioned that there was no Pfizer available at the vaccination site and I got worried. I wanted to get my booster shot from the same vaccine company because I didn’t want to mix up my vaccines even though we were given the green light to mix and match.

I was then given a form to fill out and waited to be called inside one of the rooms for our information to be collected and inputted into the hospital’s database.

Since I received my first two doses outside the CNMI, I had to wait much longer than usual because I’m guessing, they had to input my vaccine and personal information from scratch so it’s in their system. I was thankful that they saw I was born in the CNMI and had faster access to my hospital records, which was supposed to speed up their process a bit.

After about 30 minutes, I was directed to the main vaccination room, a large open space where one side sat people who awaited their shot and the other sat people who were monitored post-shot. I went in line at the very middle to pick up a number from the front, sat down, and waited for it to be called, which took about another 20 minutes.

I went behind the curtain and sat at one of the available stations. I was asked questions regarding my previous shots and given advice for this shot – drink lots of water for the next two days, move my arm if begins to throb a bit, take Tylenol if a fever emerges, and relax as much as I could.

I received my shot to my right arm as I’m a leftie, and headed to the observation area. I gave all my documents, including my vaccination card, and was told to wait for 15 minutes, which again, surprised me because I thought since I have an allergy, I would have to wait for 30 minutes again.

Are the 30-minute wait times for people with allergies only for the first and second doses?

I was called up when my 15 minutes was complete and was again advised on what to do after receiving my booster.

After two hours, the process of getting my booster shot was over.

Thankfully I didn’t get many side effects. My injected arm was feeling sore for two days, but it wasn’t as bad as before. I did take Tylenol after eating lunch and dinner that same day, so a fever didn’t show up. At the least, I was coughing and sneezing for about a day the next day. I was also lacking energy for about three days.