Public health officials were returning from a vaccination post in rural Cave Junction, Oregon, on Tuesday, when they were trapped in a snowstorm on the highway.
They knew they only had six hours to take the remaining doses of the coronavirus vaccine to people waiting for their vaccines at Grants Pass, about 30 miles away. The trip usually takes about 45 minutes.
But with a tractor trailer diverted in front of them, the crew realized that they could be stuck for hours and the doses would expire.
Thus, workers made the decision to drive from car to car by asking stranded drivers if they wanted to get vaccinated, right there.
“We had an individual who was so happy that he took off his shirt and jumped out of the car,” said Michael Weber, director of public health for Josephine County, Oregon.
Another beneficiary, he said, was an employee of the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office who arrived too late for the clinic in Cave Junction, but ended up stuck with the others on the way back to Grants Pass.
Most drivers laughed at the offer of a roadside coronavirus vaccine and politely declined, although Weber said he had a doctor and an ambulance team on hand to help oversee the operation. He acknowledged that it was not the typical scenario for a vaccination.
“It was a strange conversation,” said Weber. “Imagine yourself stranded on the side of a road in a snowstorm and someone comes up and says, ‘Hey. Would you like a shot in the arm? ‘”
Still, Weber said public health officials administered all six doses of the Modern vaccine to six grateful drivers.
Weber called it “one of the coolest operations” he ever participated in and said it was an easy decision to manage shots on the highway.
“Honestly, once we knew we wouldn’t be back in town in time to use the vaccine, it was just the obvious choice,” he said. “Our number one rule now is that nothing is lost.