Jan. 15. FIRST PERSON. By Dave Vieser. I consider getting a Covid 19 vaccine shot essential, so I got my first  COVID-19 vaccination this week. With almost 2,000 cases so far in Cornelius alone, I hope the following is helpful.

I’m 75, and received an email last week from Atrium Health, advising me that it was time to sign up for the shot. Within an hour, I was on the internet booking my time, which was 8:40 am Tuesday Jan. 12. I never spoke to anyone, as it was all done via their website. All shots were being administered by appointment only to keep waiting times down.

DAVE VIESER

When I arrived at the site, which was in Concord about 30 minutes from my home, everything was set up for getting the shots outside, in my own car. After filling out some paperwork, I waited on line for about 25 minutes. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. When I moved up on line for the actual shot, it took all of five minutes.

Then we waited an additional 15 minutes to make sure there were no reactions, which there weren’t. As for the shot itself, I hardly felt a thing. It was less painful than some of the allergy shots I have received over the years. This was the Pfizer vaccine, which means I will be going back in about three weeks for the second and final vaccination.

I should mention that statewide, the positivity rate is around 14 percent (14.7 percent yesterday), when the goal is 5 percent, and downward. Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are near record levels statewide and health officials say the situation is dire.

Protection against Covid 19 is going to be much more effective if the majority of our residents get the vaccine. I understand this is a personal decision, but based on my experience this week, there’s no reason to hesitate.

—Dave Vieser, who lives in the Townhomes at Harborside neighborhood with his wife Gloria, reports and writes for Cornelius Today and Business Today. He has more than four decades experience in news and public relations. For astute observers of language, you’ll note his use of the word “on-line” instead of “in-line.” Yes, he’s from New York, Long Island to be exact.