With COVID vaccines in short supply, waiting times are not unusual—but for a few drivers stuck in traffic last week, there was no wait at all.
During last Tuesday’s snowstorm in Oregon, an inoculation crew found themselves stranded in a traffic jam. Rather than let vaccine doses expire, they hopped out of their vehicles and braved the cold, walking car to car looking for people eager to receive the shots.
After a day spent doling out vaccinations at various locations, Josephine County Public Health Director Michael Weber and 20 colleagues were on their way back to home base in Grants Pass, Oregon with six vaccine doses leftover. Stuck in a snowbound line of cars behind an accident, Weber realized that the 6-hour shelf life of these vaccine doses that had been removed from sub-zero storage would expire quickly.
With the vaccine’s viability window closing, rather than let the precious cargo go to waste, Weber leaped into action.
He told The Washington Post, “I decided to start going door-to-door, car-to-car, offering the vaccine.”
An ambulance that had accompanied them was also present and ready to treat anyone in case of an allergic reaction.
Weber and four team members carried pre-filled hypodermics, medical supplies, and a big umbrella to canvass motorists for likely candidates. After 45 minutes, all the remaining doses had been distributed.