Tuesday was, literally, a welcome shot in the arm for hundreds of Orcas Islanders

||| BY LIN MCNULTY, EDITOR |||

The weather was cooperative, the parking lot was not full, greeters were everywhere to point us in the right direction, uniformed National Guard members processed all (pre-registered) comers and stuck needles into 361 willing arms gathered at Orcas Center on Tuesday, Mar. 2 to receive their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

There were 17 members of the Washington National Guard pulled from all over the state from a range of units and branches, along with a liaison from State Department of Health. These National Guard members all have day jobs and many of them have been on duty for nearly all of the past year. I checked — my vaccinator’s day job is as a phlebotomist so I was comforted and reassured in that knowledge of his experience.

I couldn’t help but notice the almost party atmosphere at Orcas Center as we were each individually processed through the vaccination site with, yes, military precision — only with smiles. It was a gathering of happy and hopeful folks on both the giving and receiving end. Orcas Fire Department personnel were on hand to help with the logistics, but a few of them seemed to be instituting an old tried-and-true, yet effective, method of  crowd pleasing by courtesy and humor. I was pleased to meet our new best friend who brings us the COVID-19 Hot Topics and other updates, Brendan Cowan for SJC Emergency Management Department who was there overseeing the operation (OK, he was also having a good time.)

And because it’s Orcas, there were occasional musicians who sat at the piano in the Madrona Room to contribute music to the setting; while I was there, I was fortunate enough to hear Martin Lund at the keyboard. Over the course of the day, there  were other musicians who also sought to soothe any nerves with relaxing melodious tunes.

In the whole, it was delightful to be in the company of other islanders, to see familiar faces (eyes above the masks), to have a chance to visit and catch up in the few minutes before we each got vaccinated and for the few minutes we each waited before being released to the outside world.

Oh, yeah. The vaccination? Seriously, barely felt it at the time, and today, one day later, I feel no discomfort at the injection site whatsoever. I can’t wait to go back for my follow-up jab in four weeks.