A little over a year into the pandemic, and I’ve had my first shot. My next shot is in 4 months. So, still on the 18th month timeline I had been working with.

On Tuesday, I attempted to get a vaccine, going to a place I was told would work. They had been doing Walk-ins on the Saturday and Sunday, but were only doing appointments on the Tuesday. And for various reasons, the provincial booking system did not accept that I was eligible, despite everything saying I was, so I was not able to book an appointment.

That day, I cried a bit while driving back homeward. It had been a rough day. I’d gotten my hopes up and it didn’t work out. It very much seemed like the system was broken, and in many ways, it probably is.

Wednesday Evening, I got a call from the local pharmacy, one of the ones I had actually been able to register at, and I was offered an appointment for the next morning. It was quick and simple, just a short drive and a short wait.

There are still plenty of people out there who haven’t been able to get their first shot, and hopefully they’ll be able to get them soon. It’s a relief to finally be able to get mine, though still incredibly frustrating, the number of things that have gone wrong.

I could have flown down to the states, spent time with people who were important to me, and been able to get both my shots, before returning home, then doing the two week Quarantine, but that option was one that wasn’t available to me because of obligations that have been imposed on me.

In theory, those same obligations should have allowed me to get my first shot a month or so back, as someone who was acting as a caregiver. But for some reason, despite saying that caregivers would be given priority, most weren’t.

The system is a mess, cobbled together and running as best it can, relying on compromises between what people feel is important and the flawed ideology that our society is warped by.