I am spending the fall in Ottawa where the media is chock full of stories about
the H1NI vaccine, the
swarms of Canadians trying to get the vaccine, and the
general futility of the entire situation. There are even people
advertising to wait in line for vaccination wristbands, for a fee.
I tried hard not to become inflamed or influenced by the media coverage, but it was hard to resist it. Eventually, I caved in and decided to go wait in line for a bracelet that would qualify me and my kids for vaccination appointments at a clinic. (As an aside, how wonderful is it that I can get vaccinated here, even though I am not a permanent Canadian resident? I love Canada.)
At 7 am. on a Saturday, I drove in pouring rain to a clinic on the outskirts of Ottawa. There were hundreds of people already in line---some
had been there since 1 am. I joined the line, and waited under my umbrella for 45 minutes. Throughout the wait, workers gave periodic updates---that the bracelets for that day's appointments were almost gone, and that we (meaning the people who had not been waiting in line since the pre-dawn hours) would probably be out of luck. No one budged from the line. The rain continued to pour down on us.
After an hour in line, we received the news that the bracelets were indeed gone. Cold and soaking wet, I made the drive home, sad that I had wasted the morning with no tangible, positive outcome for my family.
I came home and started researching the situation further, to see if there was a way around the mess of waiting in line at the clinics. The
Ottawa Public Health site has a great, updated page, with (voila!)
a Twitter feed. The feed is updated consistently, giving wait times, and even letting people know when there are no lines at specific clinics and shots available.
Within an hour of following the public health Twitter feed, I learned of a clinic that had no lines and spots available immediately. We all piled in the car, and had our shots within a half an hour. Twitter win!
The next day, the paper was again filled with stories of Canadians waiting in line for vaccinations, with thousands of residents being turned away. Following the public health Twitter feed, I could see that there will still clinics with periodic spots available throughout the day.
It's a great example of the new power (and still relatively untapped use) of social media. If more Canadians were using real-time, social information (like Twitter) rather than static media (like print newspapers), lines and crowds at clinics could be better managed and directed. I feel lucky that I was able to mobilize and use this information. I feel sad for all of the Canadians who, without the benefit of this information, will continue to wait in line for their immunizations.