Vax Fest drew big crowds to the Shrine on Airline Monday evening.
The 24-hour mass vaccine event drew so many that it nearly caused traffic jams.
The line of cars of people waiting to receive their COVID-19 vaccine shot stretched down Airline Drive from the stadium entrance to the intersection at David Drive.
Once in line on the shoulder of the road, it is a bumper-to-bumper slow creep to the vaccine site gate.
I was one of the hundreds of people in their car, watching the cars drive past while waiting to receive a jab in the arm.
Once at the gate, a volunteer directed me to drive to one of three traffic lanes inside the stadium parking lot. From here I snaked my Toyota through the barricade-lined lanes as a band on stage played live music adding to the pseudo-festival atmosphere.
Another health care worker in a reflective vest uses a tablet computer to check me in the same as a doctor’s office visit.
I had pre-registered when I booked my appointment on Ochsner’ s website. This helped me skip the traffic in the registration lane, saving me a lot of time stuck in more traffic.
After checking in, I was then instructed to drive my car inside one of seven white tents and park.
There, another health care worker approached my window, asked me a few medical questions, and then comes the needle. After the prick, I was then instructed to drive forward where I sat in my car and waited the required 15 minutes as I listen to the live band play a cover of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’.
Two hours and fifteen minutes later, I’m driving off. Vaccine Fest 2021 in the books, one shot down, one more to go.
