Five Pokes in Six Weeks: When Shot Hunting Becomes A Way of Life
On Thursday, Berkeley resident Seymour Shotz was vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a Walgreens in downtown Oakland. This should not be particularly remarkable for a sixty-five year old Alameda county resident were it not for the fact he has also received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines too bringing his “poke total” to five. Mr. Shotz story is emblematic of a new phenomenon that has emerged as resident have become obsessed with making vaccine appointments. They refer to themselves as Shot Hunters.
Shotz explained that when he first became eligible for the vaccine he spent days trying to book an appointment. “I went from Walgreens to CVS to Sutter Health to Safeway’s websites in what seemed like an endless quest to book a coveted appointment. I actually developed a rhythm where I could plug in my age, risk factors, ethnicity and county of residence with my eyes closed. It became hypnotic. When I left the house I would continue searching on my smart phone” Shotz’s perseverance finally paid off when he was officially booked for the 2:43 on March 4th at Golden Gate Fields.
“The first booking really felt good, it was a real dopamine high like I was walking on air. Unfortunately, when I arrived at Golden Gate Fields, I was turned away because of horse racing protesters. You would think total buzz kill, but it felt good to be back in the appointment hunting groove. My adrenaline was back up and that is when I realized appointment hunting had become a way of life. It was back to the old routine of click, click, click, and hit return. I don’t know how many times I got the dreaded red text sorry no appointments are available for the next five days.” At last, the green text appeared appointments available, and on March, 10, Shotz was able to return to Golden Gate Fields.
Unfortunately, when I arrived at Golden Gate Fields, I was turned away because of horse racing protesters.
Seymour Shotz
Later in the month Pfizer number two was finally booked, and that is when Shotz described the feeling of “something missing from his life.” “Without the challenge of booking an appointment, life became dull. I mean how long can one read Nextdoor posts about the crazy woman in the black Honda CRV or some rant about driving in Marin Circle? The dread was unbearable until I woke up one night and decided it was Moderna Time.” The second one is much more of a challenge because you not only need to find an appointment, but it can’t be the same vaccine.
By late March, Shotz had both Moderna pokes when he decided to give J&J a try. “J&J was a little deflating, I used the Walgreens application and got an appointment right away. It seemed too easy, like shooting ducks in a barrel, so I cancelled it and started over again.” Yesterday, Shotz finally got the J&J vaccine to complete his coveted Hat Trick as it is referred to in Shot Hunter circles. Asked, if he would go after the AstraZeneca vaccine, Shotz was dismissive. “You know, I thought of it, but one has to go to Europe to get it, and because of their national health schemes, vaccine appointments are orderly. Socialized medicine takes the survival of the fittest competition out of health care. I mean where is the fun in that?”
Socialized medicine takes the survival of the fittest competition out of health care. I mean where is the fun in that?
Seymour Shotz