BURLINGTON — North Beach had it all on Thursday — a sunny afternoon that reached 90 degrees, beach towels, boomboxes, beer pong tables, along with a Covid vaccine clinic, a dozen or so Walgreens employees, and a few hundred Johnson & Johnson shots ready to be distributed.
The walk-in clinic was one of a series of similar setups across the state, all aimed at bringing the one-shot immunization right to where people tend to congregate, to make it as easy as possible to get the vaccine.
North Beach — where concerns were raised in April, when several thousand people basked in close quarters, most of them students not yet eligible for the vaccine — seemed like an ideal spot to inspire the age group that’s had the worst vaccine uptake — 18-to-30-year-olds.
“I personally don’t care, and if I die, I die, but other people, I’m considerate of that,” said Lucas St. Cyr, a 20-year-old from Burlington. “I also heard there’s free parking, so you get to be down here all day, so there’s that.”
By the time the clinic opened at 1 p.m., more than a dozen people were already in line — and dozens more continued to cycle through during the afternoon.
Matthew Harry, 28, said he had scheduled an appointment for yesterday, but then “completely forgot about it” — and when he went to reschedule, he saw the North Beach pop-up and decided he might as well swing by.
“Being able to stand out here, and enjoy the breeze while I’m waiting, is a hell of a lot better than sitting in a pharmacy somewhere,” Harry said. “And I’m trying to go to a baby shower out in Colorado, so the sooner I can get it done, the better.”
Phoebe White, a 21-year-old Burlington resident, brought her hammock to the beach, so she could lie in it while she recovered from her shot. Because she’s from out of state, she said a walk-in clinic seemed like the easiest way to get her dose.
“I’ve really just been really patient, because I know I’m just like the least priority, so I just waited till there’s like enough that I could just come and get it right away,” White said.
And within seconds of her jab, she was already planning her post-vaccine future.
“I hope the clubs open up now. I want to dance,” White said. “I feel hot and amazing and immune. I’m going to take my mask off and hug everybody now.”
Priya Patel, a pharmacy manager at Walgreens who was administering shots on Thursday, said the North Beach clinic is more or less what she does every day, but with a better view. Also a plus, she said, is knowing that she’s helping deliver shots to populations that might have otherwise missed out.
“Someone told me that they don’t have like a phone or computer to make online appointments, so it’s been helpful for these types of pop-up clinics for folks who don’t have access to that,” Patel said.
Another worker, Laura Lavee, said she thinks it’s “definitely” a different segment of the population getting vaccinated at the beach than inside a Walgreens store.
“A lot of people have been saying that they can’t even get an appointment. I hear that a lot at the stores, people saying it’s so hard to get them, versus this where you can just walk right up and it’s great,” Lavee said.
Anne Wilke, a Walgreens employee who was helping coordinate the clinic, said she thinks pop-up clinics are the best part of her job.
“It’s very rewarding, it really connects me to our purpose of helping people, and it’s great to see families being reunited,” Wilke said. “I don’t know what ‘normal’ is anymore, but I’m happy to be part of the helping process.”
But not everyone was so happy to be at the clinic. Corbin Fox from Bristol said he wasn’t considering getting the vaccine, until his boss at work told him to. He said he got the shot only because he “felt like I had to,” but said the clinic itself was “easy.”
Other people, though, drove hours from home just to make it to the beach for their one-shot dose, even though many said they already had appointments lined up for another shot.
Robbin Ballard said she drove down from Alburgh Thursday afternoon, instead of trying to get a two-shot vaccine closer to home.
“I actually scheduled for the two-part shot, but I had a weekend coming up and I didn’t know about the side effects, so I kind of canceled it, and then I just drove an hour to get here thinking it’s one-time, it’s convenient. I’d rather drive an hour to have one shot versus two,” Ballard said.
She wasn’t the only one who went out of their way. Almost everyone at the clinic said the allure of a single dose made them come and get vaccinated — even more so than the promise of a beautiful day at the beach.
“I’m supposed to get my Pfizer vaccine tomorrow, but I didn’t really want to have to go through the two doses, and then I was listening to VPR yesterday and I heard about this,” said 23-year-old Alex Reese.
Brady Duggan, 25, said the combination of a free shot and a single dose prompted him to come to the beach. Those who got their shot on Thursday also got a free mask, popsicle mold, lotion, and City of Burlington-branded swag to sweeten the deal.
“It’s free health care, and probably some of the only we’re going to get in this country, so we might as well take it,” Duggan said. “And taking off work is kind of a pain for me, so it’s perfect.”
The North Beach clinic is also open on Friday from noon to 2:30 p.m.
