Lydia Mcaliley found joy in the hour-long queue. She says it was worth waiting every second to get the COVID-19 vaccination.
“It was a wonderful day. I feel blessed,” she said.
She joined thousands of people in Philadelphia to get her first chance at the consortium, which opened the Liacouras Center at Temple University from Friday at 12:00 to Saturday at 12:00
“It’s good to know that all these people are building their immunity because of our efforts. So maybe a little bit physically tired, but not tired,” said Dr. Ala Stanford, who founded the consortium.
She says the crowd never gave in. During the night, they brought patients to the arena in waves of 30 and out of the cold. The consortium had 2,500 doses to give and realized that it would not be enough. The city delivered another 2,000 doses around 1 am
“We couldn’t predict that there would be hundreds, literally hundreds of people here, between midnight and six o’clock, and there was no downtime in this 24-hour period,” she said.
Philadelphia Eagles team members, along with the Swoop mascot, surprised the hundreds of people waiting in line early Saturday with Dunkin ‘coffee and hot chocolate.
The consortium opened the clinic for the most vulnerable in the city; those in Phase 1b who also live in 20 Philadelphia postal codes with high rates of COVID positivity.
“It was a lot easier to take than the flu or pneumonia vaccine. I didn’t even feel it. I was like, ‘Oh, you already put it there!'” Said Bryan Jeffrey Daniels of southern Philadelphia.
He and his sister initially came to the line on Friday, but with the snow and rain, they decided to leave and return.
“Knowing I got the chance, I’m happy,” said Diann Jones, of western Philadelphia. She waited four hours on Saturday morning. She had two relatives who died from the virus, and she is waiting for the day when she can be protected.
“This is something I’ve been praying for, at least to get a vaccine so that we can get back to some sense of normalcy,” she said.
Dr. Stanford says that all vaccinees at this clinic will have their second injection scheduled for the week of March 22.
The consortium will work with the city hall and the Liacouras Center to decide whether there will be another marathon clinic.
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