Vaccine Supersite Interview with Jeff Bibb

[TRANSCRIPT & DESC: Ann Lynn, African American female is wearing gray sweater and shirt, a black headband and a pair of glasses. Jeff Bibb, a white male wearing a black polo shirt and a pair of black glasses.

Ann Lynn: Hi and welcome. Today, we want to grab the opportunity to interview Jeff Bibb about his experience on getting vaccinated at a supersite in Oakland. Hello Jeff.

Jeff: Hello. Thank you for having me here today.

Anna: I would like to ask you what was your experience like from the beginning to the end on this topic.

Jeff: Sure. I will start with when I made the reservation because I am an educator who is considered as an instructor during one of tiers that certainly required vaccination. That’s how I was able to get in and receive the vaccine. The reservation was for 8:00 AM and the drive to get there took about an hour. I learned from the rumors that the wait could be as long as two hours. I wasn’t sure if waiting on a lane in my car would change the waiting time because I didn’t know this was organized for patients with cars. I left early and when I got to the site I saw so many cars waiting in long lines. The road was packed full. The site where vaccines are isn’t at the coliseum where the basketball games are played, it was after that building near where the Oakland Athletics baseball field is. After passing the baseball field, I was still in my car moving further then turned right and entered. The lines were extremely long. When I stopped at where workers ask attendees their communication preference, I explained that I am deaf and I use sign language. On my phone I spelt ASL (American Sign Language) and showed it to one of the workers. Immediately, the worker pulled out the walkie talkie and began talking then instructed me to move my car out of the waiting line. I was surprised. They knew what they were doing until someone in a cart approached me and placed a sign on my windshield that spelt, “American Sign Language” (showing the sign to Anna).

Ann Lynn: I see.

Jeff: Cool. How cool it was, someone placed a sign on my windshield. Cool. Cool. Then there was a lady wearing her face mask and a badge indicating she’s an interpreter, she stepped out of the cart and started walking toward me and then started interpreting. I was instructed to stay in my car and follow the cart. While following the cart, I saw innumerable cars waiting in those lanes on my right, they looked like attendees waiting for the roller coaster. As we turned to the farthest left lane it felt nice to have that lane accessed to the handicapped and deaf people. The lane was clear and easy, there were no other cars. It felt like I was the first person to enter the site. Those lanes, about 15 or 16 of them, were full of cars. As I kept driving on the lane and then stopped at the point where a man wearing his mask, accompanied with a sign language interpreter, they both approached me. I was being questioned with common questions such as allergy, have I experienced shots, was I positive, etc and etc. After that man was done asking me these questions, there was another lady who vaccinated people came to me and asked if I was nervous, if I am all right. After I replied, she gave me the shot. That was it. Then I started following the cart again down the lane shortly. At the next stop, I had to wait for about 15 minutes. During the wait, I didn’t feel anything. I was feeling alright. I was still waiting and nothing happened. After waiting for 15 minutes, they let me go so I can go home.

Ann Lynn: Oh. That’s cool. Curiously, where did you get the information about this vaccination site?

Jeff: First, at the school where I work, Mr. Clark Brooke the school superintendent did a wonderful job coordinating the school with the county and the state. He communicated with the teachers and staff so that’s how I was given the information. Being given various information, one of them was myturn.ca.gov. I was recommended to check out that link so I clicked on it and entered the site. I had to keep checking the link periodically for schedules. I noticed that every two days the supersite releases schedules at 8:00am.

Ann Lynn: I see. Did you communicate with the others or did you just move forward with the given information alone? Can you tell me your experience on registration?

Jeff: While I was registering on myturn.ca.gov I noticed the language is very English. It wasn’t ASL friendly. Most of the questions were medical related. You will have to read them carefully. Most of the questions I answered no to because I am a healthy person, but people with health issues probably need someone to do document translation to understand these questions. There are about 8 to 10 questions. Overall, the registration itself was very easy to complete. You just need to be prepared to be able to make a reservation, not waiting too long, because registration closes fast; time is of the essence. It looked like it’s already full during the hour from 8am to 8:30am, 8:45am, or 9:00am.

Ann Lynn: I see. After you got vaccinated and was done with your time at the site, did they give you anything to leave with?

Jeff: They didn’t really give me anything except, of course, a record card to be ready for the second vaccine in future. Pfizer vaccine was the one I was vaxxed with. They use Pfizer vaccines at the supersite. Now that I got my first vaccine I will be getting the second vaccine in the next three weeks. Date and time for the second vaccine is already scheduled.

Ann Lynn: When you met the interpreter, were there more interpreters assigned to different points throughout the site or was there only just one interpreter taking over the supersite?

Jeff: At the lane there were several tents loaded with the vaccines but I met the interpreter earlier. Later on, I found a friend of mine who was assigned an interpreter too. My friend said, “No, I was assigned to another interpreter.” We both found out that one of the interpreters was female and the other was male. My friend asked around and found out the supersite contained 5 ASL interpreters in total. That information turned out wonderfully.

Ann Lynn: Do you know if the supersite is opened all day, are the interpreters there available all day too?

Jeff: Yes, the site is open all day. I am not sure about the interpreters. I am pretty sure they take shifts to be available for the entire time. It didn’t take me so long to get vaxxed. I prepared myself in case I had to stay there for an hour or an hour and a half but it turned out only 15-20 minutes. It was unexpectedly fast. It was nice. It was nice of FEMA to recognize ADA rights/accessibility. It was wonderful.

Ann Lynn: Great! Last question, can you explain why it is important to go to that specific site to get the vaccine when there are more sites in other places?

Jeff: My medical provider only covers those who are over the age of 75. I would have to wait to get my vaccine if I rely on my medical provider. FEMA, it is federal and it has guaranteed that they will not run out of vaccines. It’s confirmed that people getting vaccines will happen. Other places would have to reschedule, making delays. FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ann Lynn: Thank you for explaining and thank you for your time. I am sure people will benefit from interviewing you. Again, thank you. We appreciate it.

Jeff: Sure, I am happy to help the Bay Area community with my experience. Take care. (Thumbs up)

Ann Lynn: Take care, too. (Thumbs up)

END TRANSCRIPT]