When vaccine appointments were difficult to find, Members began comparing notes. A successful booking would be followed almost immediately by a message asking who still needed one.
Erin kept a list beside her laptop. Whitney preferred a shared message thread. They used both, because each was convinced the other system would lose someone.
The early appointments
Eligibility opened in stages, and Members waited for the group that included them. Questions about a medical condition went to their healthcare providers; questions about where to click generally went to Erin.
She became familiar with several appointment sites and the particular ways each could send someone back to the beginning. She asked Members to have their information ready before calling.
As more appointments became available, the list beside her laptop acquired crosses, arrows, and a coffee ring. She would not let anyone copy it neatly until the latest bookings had been confirmed.
Comparing notes
A Member would tell another where she had found an appointment, and the second Member would try while they were still on the phone. Erin asked them to stay on the line until they had a confirmation.
Whitney asked everyone to report back after booking so that two people were not spending the evening searching for the same person. This worked once she began asking by name.
The habits were familiar: knowing who had useful information, making introductions quickly, and following up when someone had gone quiet. The same group could usually arrange a dinner table on very little notice.
Where Members looked
The messages covered pharmacy appointments, county sites, and newly announced clinics. The locations below came up repeatedly in the Members' exchanges.
- Walgreens appointments, including suburban locations that Members could reach with a ride from family or friends.
- The Mariano’s portal, which Members checked alongside other pharmacy sites. Successful appointment searches were reported back to the group.
- Cook County Health appointments and the United Center vaccination site, which prompted several Members to compare driving plans.
- The Jewel-Osco system, where Members also checked for cancellations and newly available appointments.
- Public clinic announcements, passed around quickly to Members who were still looking.
- Out-of-state arrangements raised by Members staying with family or at their winter residences. Eligibility questions had to be settled with the relevant provider before making plans.
The next appointments
The thread became active again when Members began arranging boosters. Erin found the old list and started another sheet. Whitney reminded everyone that the thread was still there.
What helped
The Society is grateful to the Members who stayed up checking appointments, explained a form, or offered someone a ride. It was ordinary help, given promptly, at a time when it mattered.
Afterward, the messages gradually returned to dinner plans. Erin kept the list in a drawer rather than throwing it away.
“Tell me when you have booked it, please. I am still looking until you tell me.”— Whitney, in the group thread
Keeping in touch
The Members remember which friend called, who drove, and who checked that they had arrived home. Those are the details that still come up when they talk about the period.
The thread remains open. Whitney would appreciate replies to the dinner question.