In some unexpected turn of events, a law student’s shopping trip ended with him and a friend receiving injections of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Law student David MacMillan and his friend were at a Giant Food supermarket in Washington DC to buy some groceries when a pharmacist approached them to ask if they were interested in taking the injections. Taken by surprise, he agreed and said it was “a great way to start 2021”.
MacMillan posted a video on TikTok that shows him getting the vaccine, and the clip has since been widely shared on the platform. In the clip, he explained that several rescuers who were scheduled to receive the Modern vaccine had missed appointments. Since the vaccine could not be kept at room temperature for more than a few hours, it would have to be discarded, which is why the team offered it.
“She turned to us and said, ‘Hey, I have two shots of the vaccine and I’m going to have to throw them out if I don’t give it to someone. We close in 10 minutes. Do you want the modern vaccine? ‘”MacMillan said according to a NY Post report.
The coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna need to be transported and stored at minus 70 and minus 20 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that states provide vaccinations to first responders, essential workers and populations at risk, including the elderly in nursing homes, first.
“It is important that, when there is so much misinformation going around, people can see that this is a good thing, this is a positive thing. We must be excited to be able to deal with the pandemic, ”MacMillan told NBC News.
Speaking of the vaccine, he said he had a mild reaction to the vaccine – a headache – but he felt very good overall. He also said that the CDC is checking with him every day for text to monitor the symptoms.
In a statement to AFP, the supermarker said: “The Modern vaccine is valuable and saves lives, and we are happy that we did not waste it and give each couple a dose”.
However, they were not the only ones who got vaccinated while shopping at the supermarket. Another Washington couple was also shot at another store in town.
Franck Le Bousse, a 51-year-old DC resident, entered a Safeway market recently one afternoon and suddenly knew that more than a dozen doses of the Modern vaccine would expire if no one took them before the pharmacy closed in less than an hour.
“I went shopping. . . . I have a vaccine! ”The architect wrote after posting a photo.
On a Washington Post report, the architect quickly called his wife Beth to go to the store to take a photo too.
“I just grabbed my coat and ran to Safeway,” she told the newspaper. She arrived when her husband was receiving the injection in a separate room and remembered seeing him leave after being vaccinated. “He seemed to have won the lottery,” she said.