My county does some things correctly, despite being Republican dominated. Our elections are paper-based and readily auditable. Being a non-Republican in a very small precinct it is very easy for my me to see that my vote counted. You can track your absentee ballot on-line from mailing, to returned, to being counted.

It turns out that the local county Department of Health is just as professional. The problems with the local system are the lack of a predictable supply of vaccines from the state, and the lack of personnel. When they get the vaccines, they put them in arms, not storage.

Appointments are scheduled for half-hour blocks and large parking lots are used as the procedure is drive-through. Each vehicle can have up to four people in it. As you move through the parking lot people check your paperwork and tape a paper to your windshield indicating who is getting shot in the vehicle. There were four stations actually giving shots. One person gave the shot (with a needle so thin that it wasn’t as noticeable as a mosquito bite). Another collected your paperwork, and wrote the time you could leave the observation lot. I had to wait 30 minutes, while others only had to wait 15. After your time was up an EMT gave you your CDC immunization card indicating the vaccine used (Pfizer) and the lot number. You also receive your appointment for the second dose. If you had a bad reaction, there was an ambulance standing by.

After I got home I checked my temperature and it was up one degree. I had an “almost headache”, i.e. it wasn’t enough to get a Tylenol. I was tired, but not enough to take a nap. After a good night’s sleep the only effect was a stiff upper arm that was the site of the injection.