Destination Vaccination in Prairie du Chien

by Rebecca Cuningham

The post also known as, “Husband’s Vaccine in Prairie du Chien”. Chien means dog in French; the town is named after prairie dogs! That’s another thing I like about it, besides the appointment I found for my husband there a week ago. Evan qualified to be vaccinated before I did. It was worth it to us to drive two hours for the peace of mind. I had fun taking photos, hanging out with my family and going the farthest away from our house we’ve gone in a year. Four days later, I got my shot in another town, one hour away from Madison.

Why all this driving around? People in Madison are very interested in protecting themselves from Covid-19 and since the US does not have centralized health care, in general we cannot go through our regular doctor. The clinics as a general rule don’t have the vaccine. Although some health plans called HMOs do provide vaccines. The doses are distributed largely to pharmacies and are free of charge. The appointments fill up as fast as they are posted. There is a dizzying online system for finding a slot. You can look by your zip code (postal code) to find appointments near you. If you have no luck, you can decide to look within 25, 50 or 100 miles (40, 80, 161 km). After looking for two days for Evan’s appointment near us, I decided to look further out. I was thrilled to find an opening in Prairie du Chien. Once I had found the time and place, I went onto the pharmacy website and signed him up.

That was my experience with the beginning of the vaccination process. I believe it’s different in other states or cities. Although it may sound inefficient, over 2 million people (35% of our state’s population) have received at least one dose of a vaccine in the last few months. In Wisconsin, 78% of people 65 and older are vaccinated and nearly 50% of people 55 to 64. Around 30% adults have their first dose per the current national average by state. We’ve prioritized medical staff, seniors, people with medical conditions like asthma and heart disease, teachers and front line workers. Now the appointments are open to all adults and children over 16.

Well, that was more of an introduction than I planned to write. But I love cross cultural and health care comparisons.
PS Mid-week Madison received more doses and is offering 1400 vaccinations a day at a local stadium!

How is the vaccination process turning out where you live?

I took a lot of photos on the road. This is what rural Wisconsin looks like between Madison and the southwest corner of Wisconsin. I was very excited for our first family day trip!

  • Corn field before planting Photo: Rebecca Cuningham
  • Dousman Hotel Photo: Rebecca Cuningham
  • Bridge to Villa Louis Photo: Rebecca Cuningham
  • Mississippi View Photo: Rebecca Cuningham
Six Word Saturday and Bright Squares of Prairie du Chien

  • Mississippi Bright Photo: Rebecca Cuningham
  • Surprise Solar Farm Photo: Rebecca Cuningham
  • Farm Photo by Rebecca Cuningham
  • Grain silos Photo: Rebecca Cuningham
For the Solar Farm, I pulled off the road to take photos. Okay, I’ll admit it. I did for the silos too!

Gracias for reading Fake Flamenco. ¡Olé! –Rebecca

Check out Debbie and Friends’ great pics at Six Word Saturday.

#6WS #SixWordSaturday

Square Up with Becky B!

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Rebecca Cuningham

34 thoughts on “Destination Vaccination in Prairie du Chien”

  2. Fantastic squares, and even more fabulous about the vaccinations. No one here needs drive more than 40minutes although some are if they want it a week or two earlier. I am not on the list yet so going to be a few more weeks if not months before I get mine, at least though it will be within a few minutes drive

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  3. Gosh, that sounds complicated. My husband was phoned by our doctor in January and we both went to his appointment in the next nearest town, where they agreed to do me too, as I fell within an appropriate target group. So we both have our second jab next week. Can’t wait! Everybody our age has now been ‘done’, at least once. Everyone who wants a jab that is, and take-up has been well above 90% locally.

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    1. Hello, Margaret. What you are describing is how I hoped it would work here. It is better now with an additional 1400 appointments here in the city. I could have waited a few more days and taken the shot here, but I was happy to take a drive.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. The photos are lovely, especially the colours on the grain silos.

    Congratulations on getting your first jabs! Do you have to go through the whole process of searching to an appointment for the second one?

    I’m diabetec and so was texted by my doctor with appointment in early February, while my cheeseeller had his jab in his age group (over 56) three weeks ago. Our eldest son has just got a job as an adminstrator at a big local hospital, and thus will be vaccianted next week. Youngest is 20, so will wait until June/July. My worry there is that he is asthmatic, they don’t seem to be a priority here!

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    1. Thanks for your comments and vaccine story, Kim. Glad you and your Cheeseseller are vaccinated. I hope your youngest is able to get the jab soon. So interesting the priorities that each country sets for who receives them first. We are automatically signed up for a second appointment when we make the first, only caveat for us would be, in the same location. However, we are able to make a local appointment now that the government has increased the number of doses Madison receives to an additional 1400 a day. Then we can cancel the distance drive.

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    1. Thank you, Jo. Those shapes just called to me. : ) Sorry to hear about the slow progress. Hope you and yours can get the vaccine soon. Each country has its process… I also really feel for the people of Haiti where No One has gotten a single jab yet.

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  7. Fascinating tale about the vaccinations. What happens if you don’t have a car, or can’t drive and there is no local transport to a nearby vaccination point? That would be my main worry. Here, where we have a centralized system, I was contacted early and given a choice of dates and it was all so smooth. Ten minutes from home, in and out (with the obligatory wait of 15 minutes to make sure all was well) and it was all over. Loved the grain silos but that shot through the railings is special.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Mari. Great questions! Fortunately, as of mid-week our city is receiving an additional 1400 doses per day and administering them at a local stadium. It is drive through, but there is a number to call to ask for free transportation. Glad to hear about your centralized system, which sounds so wonderful to me: a phone call and a choice of dates sounds fantastic. Happy you’ve been vaccinated. Thanks for the compliments on the photos. It was a lot of fun to see new places again.

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  9. Wonderful shots and glad you both got the first shot.

    In our case currently people in age group 65-74 are getting vaccinated. IT will take some time before we are informed by our municipality.

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  11. Los Angeles here has been moving quite quickly with the vaccination process. As a government worker, I qualified during Phase B, and I got my first dose a couple of weeks ago; I will get my second dose later this month. As opposed to driving 25+ miles as you mentioned, I drove about 13 miles to mine (as slots were all booked up in my neighborhood). Goes to show just how different the procedures go, depending on where you live in the country! Hope your vaccination process goes smoothly, and stay safe!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, the process is quite distinct in different state. Thanks for your contribution to the discussion, Rebecca. Glad you’re on your way to being fully vaccinated! One question, did you get your vaccine at a drs office or a pharmacy? Thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I got it at a massive, drive-through place, administered by a private clinic. It was a bit far from home, but it was the nearest place with the earliest time-slot available to get it!

        Liked by 1 person

  12. In Massachusetts everyone over 16 will be eligible April 19. A word to the wise: Although it’s rare, you can still carry the disease to the unvaccinated. Children, for example. I learned from a friend this a.m. that a physical therapist she knows who works in a nursing home has tested positive although fully vaccinated. (Reported to CDC.)

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Pingback: *Press This* Destination Vaccination in Prairie du Chien #181 | Its good to be crazy Sometimes
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