As stated before, I do appreciate and respect healthcare professionals.  But sometimes …

This week was sometimes.

Third.

At least this one didn’t threaten anyone’s life, per se; although the pharmacy employee at Walgreens did have a near death experience, she just didn’t know it.

Okay.  It’s that time of year.  Time for old farts like me to get my Covid booster; because if you think Covid is gone you’re not paying attention (300 people per week in the U.S. are dying from Covid).

Anyhow, my local pharmacy of choice has been Walgreens for some time; even though they have given me a fair share of frustration in the past.

So, I go to the website; make an appointment for my Covid booster.

Easy peasy.

Go to Walgreens for my appointment; sign in by scanning the QR code on the sign, per the sign’s instruction and my phone tells me I’m all signed in.  Great!  I go and have a seat and start reading on my Kindle app.

I realize that I’ve been reading for quite awhile.  Hmmmm.  What time is it?  Okay, it’s about 15 minutes past my appointment time.  And there isn’t anybody else waiting.  Hmmmm.  I go up to the pharmacy counter and explain my issue. 

I’m told, while they have the appointment, but their system doesn’t show that I checked in.  But she’ll go ahead and sign me in now. 

Okay.

She’s getting a bunch of info from me; and then she turns and says something to the pharmacist.  The pharmacist says, “No.”  And the person helps me follows the pharmacist. 

And I’m waiting … and waiting … and she comes back and lets me know they don’t have any Covid vaccine. 

This fat old lady’s anger meter goes all the way to the top.

So many questions.  Why did the website show this location as having the vaccine?  Why didn’t my sign-in go through (so maybe I could have gotten this information earlier)?  Why did we just go through this whole check-in process when you don’t even have the fucking vaccine? 

The clerk asks me which kind of vaccine do I want and I told her I didn’t care which kind.  So she starts typing onto her computer saying she’s sure she knows where I can get the vaccine.

I interrupt her and ask, “Are you sending me to a different Walgreens?” to which she replies, “Yes”, to which I reply “No.  I’m done.” 

And I take my fat old lady ass out of the store.

Angry.  So angry.  This is the kind of stuff I try to work through in therapy and still it sends me right up the fucking wall.

I did everything right.  I followed all the rules and instructions.  So why am I getting fucked over?

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I go home and decide, it’s enough.  Time for a new pharmacy. 

Made an online appointment with CVS for the next day.  Got there on time, did the phone check-in (and wonders or wonders, it worked), double-checked at the counter (because unlike Walgreens there wasn’t a line out the door); had a seat, filled in their paperwork and got my booster.

Easy fucking peasy.

What a week. Oh, and we’re not quite done – but the last part is not healthcare related – thank God (TIDBI) for small mercies.