Milton resident shares experience in getting a COVID-19 vaccine for the 75+ population

You may have noticed a lot of conversation coming from confused community members as to how they can secure a COVID-19 vaccine. One Milton Neighbor shared his experience with us.

Somehow, after wasting hours on the state’s website last week, I was able to schedule an appointment for March 31 in Needham. I’m 75 and my PCP (primary care physician) is at South Shore Internal Medicine at BI Deaconess Milton. I heard about the Milton Council on Aging, called them and got on their list [in the high 300s].

Late Tuesday afternoon I received a text message from Beth Israel Lahey Health inviting me to schedule an appointment via a link in the text message. I used the link and easily set up an appointment for yesterday at 4:00 p.m. at a site BILH was using in North Quincy. BILH is using about a dozen sites and 200 Newport Avenue Extension in North Quincy was the closest. I chose a time and got an immediate confirmation. As soon as I had received my shot, I received a text with a link to schedule an appointment for a second shot. I did that while I was in the holding area after the shot. Someone there walked me through it. Once I selected an appointment time I got an immediate text confirmation for it.

The whole thing was very easy. Beth Israel Lahey Health reached out to me and no paperwork was needed. When I checked in, I gave my name and the time of my appointment and it was confirmed by a person at a computer. On leaving, my appointment for the second shot was also confirmed by another person at a computer. T

he whole process took about 90 minutes and there was a lot of waiting. People were advised to show up 5 minutes before their appointment but plenty showed up early. There was about 10 minutes waiting outside to keep the lobby less crowded. The lobby was a bit busy. There were people with appointments at 3:45, 4:00 and 4:15. The 3:45 group was still heading to check in at 4:20. There was about a 20 minute wait in the check in area.

Then you had to take an elevator up one floor and wait standing 6 feet apart in another line before getting the shot. I got there at 3:55 and received my shot at 5:10. Then I waited the 15 minutes in a seat before being discharged. There is a garage attached to the building and parking is free.

My assumption is that if you are a Beth Israel Deaconess patient, they have their own system for vaccination. It was a lot easier than dealing with the state’s website. Yesterday was the third day of their operation in North Quincy, and I expect that they will smooth out their process.