All of us know the headaches that came with finding, booking and getting a COVID-19 vaccination. But employees at Charleston Animal Society had their own dream team working on appointments, taking much of the stress away.
Normally in charge of the shelter’s foster program, Christina Ellwood and Jodi Osborne were originally trying to get themselves appointments. Sitting next to each other, they were finding many appointments appear and then disappear if they didn’t act fast enough. So, they decided to team up – “JoTina” as they’re affectionately known, sprung into action.
“When we got going, I think we did 13 in a matter of 30 minutes,” said Osborne. “We have been able to get everybody vaccinated, at least their appointments are made, and they’re on the roll to get everything done.”
Since they teamed up, the number of vaccination appointments booked has climbed past 30 and Charleston Animal Society is nearing a 100% vaccination rate of eligible employees. Human Resources Senior Director Angel Waterfield couldn’t believe what she was seeing, “To have these two employees do this on their own was fantastic. We are so lucky to work in a place where employees care so much about each other.”
Another employee, Santanna Williams, joined the Dream Team to drive yet another employee to her appointment that “JoTina” had booked.
The Vaccination Dream Team has advice for anyone still looking for a COVID-19 shot: be patient and persistent. “You have to be quick. Get ready to stay at your computer and hit ‘refresh’ multiple times on multiple websites,” Ellwood said. “Something will pop up.”
Before you start booking, have your driver’s license, insurance card (even though it’s not required, the shot is free) and personal information including name, address, date of birth, phone number and email address. Also, be willing to travel up to 45 minutes in some cases to get the shot.
The Dream Team says their co-workers have been extremely grateful. “Yeah, super grateful. Air fives, distance hugging, stuff like that, but everybody’s been super happy and excited,” said Ellwood.
