WAYNE, NJ – It was the last day of winter on Friday. A chill was carried on the wind, biting through layers of clothing, reminding us that spring wouldn’t begin for another day. Despite the cold, a sense of hope hovered around the old abandoned Macy’s in the Preakness Shopping Center, and inside, that hope was palpable.
It was a second-dose Friday. Three hundred people were coming to receive their last shot and finish their COVID-19 vaccine protocol. For these lucky people, this was not only the last day of the season, it was their last day of the dark winter of COVID.
Since early January, the old Macy’s had become Wayne’s COVID vaccine clinic, and from that time, thousands of residents have received the coveted doses and have left this building praying that the nightmare of COVID was forever over for them.
The Wayne clinic has been off limits to the press since it began, but Mayor Chris Vergano felt that it was time push back the curtain and share what has been happening in the old Macys over the last few months.
“We’ve resisted doing this for some time, but with all the rumors of difficulties at some of the other vaccine sites: long-lines and people being turned away, we felt it was important that everyone know how we do things here,” explained the Mayor. “What we’re doing here is a really good service for our residents.”
According to the people interviewed that day, the residents agree.
Andrew Panos, a Wayne resident for the last 45 years received his second shot that Friday and he described the process as a “smooth operation.”
“It’s very well organized,” he added. “The people are great, and everyone knows exactly what they’re doing.”
The process begins with the most difficult step of them all: getting an appointment. On Friday afternoons around 3:00 p.m. those who want to be vaccinated visit the township website and hope to be one of the fortunate people to be able to make an appointment.
The difficulty lies in the demand, and the Township’s limited supply.
“We find out on Tuesday how many vaccine doses we will receive from the state for the following week,” explained Vergano. “Usually, it’s between 300 and 500. That’s how many appointments we make available.”
These appointments tend to fill up in about five minutes, and it really comes down to luck and some determination in order to get an appointment.
However, once that appointment is made, the process from that point is painless, except for perhaps the shots themselves.
From the outside, the old Macy’s looks just like it actually is on most days, an empty, unused space. There are only a few small signs to let people know what is going on in the otherwise empty building.
However, on Wednesday and Friday mornings, things change. A police presence is seen outside directing residents, the side and rear parking lots begins to fill up with cars and an ambulance sits quietly nearby.
Wayne provides its residents with the Moderna vaccine which is given as two separate doses injected in the upper arm approximately 28 days apart in order to reach maximum efficacy. First doses are given on Wednesdays and second doses are provided on Fridays.
You can’t see the smiles on the Wayne police officer’s faces outside the entrance because of their masks, but you can see the genuine care in their eyes as they greet the people eager to receive their shots. These officers confirm appointments and ask people not to line-up out front.
“In the beginning, people had concerns that they would get jumped in line,” said Vergano. “Or, that they wouldn’t get their dose because we would run out. I had to tell people, ‘If you have an appointment, relax. Go sit in your car. We don't want you freezing out here. If you have an appointment, I promise you, you're getting a shot today.”
Five minutes before their appointment times residents are brought inside, and their temperatures are checked before they register. Everyone wears masks.
The first thing you see when you enter are the old Macy’s checkout stands that now function as registration desks for people to confirm their appointments. On each side of the entrance are two small waiting areas with chairs spaced six-feet apart.
Beyond the checkout stands is the huge open space that used to hold racks of clothing and jewelry and perfume displays. Now, the space is filled with volunteers. Most of these are the green-vested members of the Wayne Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which is coordinated by Wayne Police Lieutenant Jason Goller.
“We couldn’t do this without these volunteers,” said Goller. “They escort the residents every step of the way through the process, help with the paperwork, set second dose appointments and just make everyone feel comfortable and safe. It’s a great group effort.”
Michelle Mohsenin is a Pompton Lakes resident who volunteered for CERT specifically to help with the vaccination effort.
“I reached out to Passaic County, who transferred me to the Wayne Police Department and Lieutenant Goller,” said Mohsenin who began volunteering on the first day the clinic opened and has been there ever since.
“It’s really rewarding to help here,” she added. “I take off work as much as I can to be here.”
Mohsenin had just escorted Lisa Spiegel, a Wayne resident eager to receive her second shot, from the waiting area to where the injections are given; a somewhat private space hidden behind rolling hospital curtains.
Here, another volunteer, Donna Meringer greeted Spiegel. She had a calming demeanor and chatted with Spiegel about her experience with the first shot, and what to expect from the second dose. All the while she prepared the needle, sanitized the injection spot on Spiegel’s arm and injected the vaccine. It took less than a minute.
From there, Spiegel spoke with another CERT volunteer who recorded the batch number of the dose with her name. Lastly, she was escorted by a different volunteer to the back section where all vaccine recipients are required to wait 15-30 minutes to make sure they do not have any adverse reactions before they are allowed to leave.
“I am very happy with the process,” Spiegel told TAPinto after her shot.
Was she concerned about any reactions to the second dose?
“I've heard mixed; some people have nothing, some people react bad,” she said. “So, it is what it is, and I’m hoping for the best.”
If this had been a first-dose Wednesday, tables near the exit in the rear right of the building would have been manned with more CERT volunteers, setting second-dose appointments for a Friday approximately 28 days later.
A handful of blue-shirted EMT volunteers from the Wayne Memorial First Aid Squad were on standby near the back. They were there to keep an eye on the people who had just received the vaccine and assist anyone who may need medical help.
So, far their job has been easy. According to the Wayne Office of Emergency Management Coordinator, Detective Captain Dan Daly, no one has yet had any kind of adverse reaction to the vaccine while at the clinic.
Mayor Vergano told TAPinto that as of March 15, the Township had administered 5,638 doses of the Moderna vaccine, and 2,236 of those went to seniors 62 years of age and older.
He also mentioned that he only had a small role in getting this clinic up and running.
“All I did was arrange for the building to be available,” said the Mayor.
“It was these two,” he pointed out Daly and Director of the Wayne Health Department MaryAnn Orapello who stood nearby. “They did all of this.” He swept his arm out to indicate the entire operation.
“And the CERT volunteers make a big difference here,” said the Mayor. “We also had a bunch of school nurses who helped us out from the beginning, but they had to go back to school.”
They were asked how the feedback has been from those who have received their vaccines.
“It’s been great,” said Orapello from beneath the pink mask that hid her proud smile. “We’ve received so many thank you cards and emails, and people are sending food to the office.” You could hear her gratitude as she spoke.
For Orapello and her team of public health nurses, this last year has been the hardest in their careers.
“It’s been horrible,” she said, not pulling any punches. “It’s a historical time, and I hope that I never see another pandemic.”
TAPinto Wayne named Orapello and the entire Wayne Health Department as it’s ‘Wayne Person of the Year’ for 2020 because no one has worked harder to protect the residents of Wayne than this small team.
RELATED STORY: The Wayne "Person of the Year" for 2020
“I would guess that these nurses have worked probably 355 of the last 365 days,” said Daly.
As he said this, one of the health department’s nurses, Sue Dervishi was one table away continuing to tackle the seemingly never-ending job of contact tracing.
“You have to remember that our regular jobs haven’t stopped,” she said. “We’re still doing health inspections, rabies clinics and everything else that we are required to do.”
Yet, despite all that, Orapello and her team were able to help put this vaccine clinic together and make it the smoothly running operation that it is.
It’s the volunteers that are the key to it all, according to Orapello. And it’s not just the CERT members or the first aid squad. Nurses, doctors and pharmacists who have experience with injections have stepped up and are the ones making this possible.
It’s Wayne being Wayne. This is a town known for its volunteerism, and during one of its darkest times, the residents have stepped up like they always do to take care of their own.
It doesn’t stop there. The Stop & Shop next door donates bottles of water. Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts have donated coffee, Sunrise Bagels and Manhattan Bagles have donated bagels with all the fixings.
But the favorite treat around here has been warm pretzels from the Philly Pretzel Factory a few doors down from the clinic. While the vaccine recipients wait before they are allowed to leave, you can see them sitting calmly in their chairs munching on warm pretzels.
“They have been here every day we have been open,” said Orapello. “And every day, they bring 300 pretzels.”
“Let me tell you, I’ve had a few of those pretzels,” the Mayor said with a laugh.
T
APinto spoke with Asher Salam, one of the owners of the Philly Pretzel Factory
“When we heard that the vaccine clinic was opening up, we told MaryAnn right away that we would bring pretzels on the first day,” he said. “We always give back to our community in any way we can. We’ve donated to hospitals, the police, fire departments, schools, churches, you name it. Whoever we can help, we help out.”
The Health Department has also been taking care of seniors who are having a difficult time making appointments online.
“We do hold some appointments back,” she explained. “There are some elderly residents who don’t have computers or aren’t as computer savvy as the younger generation. So, we keep some appointments reserved for them.”
They also understand that some people have difficulty with mobility and accommodate them as well.
“We have people that we have vaccinated in their cars, because they are too frail, or handicapped,” explained the Health Director.
It has clearly been well-thought-out.
“The entire process is fan
tastic,” Daly said with pride in his voice. “From door-to-door, the entire thing takes about 30-35 minutes. “We’ve barely had a hiccup, and the only thing holding us back, is the number of doses. If we could get more doses, we could easily handle a 1,000, maybe 1,500 people a day.”
Daly was asked what was the worst thing that has happened here?
“Sometimes on Wednesdays, when it's a first shot clinic, we get people who are hyped-up and tense and maybe they get a little surly with us because they are so concerned,” Daly explained. “They think someone's going to cut them in line, or they're not going to get a shot today.”
Then once they get their shots and begin to wait in the back,” he continued. “A lot of times, they grab us and say: ‘We can't believe how well this was run. We thought we were going to be fighting people and stuff.’”
“Then, when they come back on a Friday for their second shot, they’re all calm because they know that it's going to go smoothly,” said Daly.
He was right. That Friday, the Wayne vaccine clinic held a feeling of positivity and professionalism. It was quiet and calm in the old department store and in the air was, perhaps, the sense of relief that many felt as they received their final dose of the vaccine.
The coronavirus has been looming over us as a deadly and invisible threat for more than a year. It’s been the source of fear and anxiety for so many. But now, for those lucky few who received their final dose, their anxiety has been tempered, their fears have been lessened and hope was injected into their arms along with the vaccine.
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March 22, 2021 at 01:00PM
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'Smooth Operation' – A Guided Tour Through Wayne's COVID Vaccine Clinic - TAPinto.net
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