Debbie Andres had reason to smile under her purple mask on Tuesday afternoon as she walked outside Heinz Field and got ready to drive home.
The sun was shining. And after some gloomy winter weeks with an appointment with any supplier she could get, the 63-year-old Harrison woman managed to take her first dose of a vaccine covid-19.
She let out a cathartic sigh.
“I’m so relieved,” Andres said. “So relieved to maybe start getting a life back again.”
Andres was among about 4,000 people who this week managed to secure online appointments via Giant Eagle for a vaccine clinic. The opening of the clinic – nearly a month after the NFL offered Heinz Field along with other stadiums nationwide as potential vaccination centers – was welcome news for those who unsuccessfully tried to get a vaccine in the region. Pennsylvania began distributing vaccines among primarily health care workers in late December, expanding to more priority groups in early January.
‘I tried long, long like everyone else. “I constantly checked all the different sites,” said Andres. “I was constantly checking to see if the (Giant Eagle) website was launched, and I immediately got in there and just picked the first place I found.”
Receivers flocked to the stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh from across Western Pennsylvania, not only Allegheny but also Westmoreland, Butler, Beaver and other neighboring counties. They included everyone, from health workers in their early 30s to 92-year-old Pauline Napolitano of Monroeville.
While on his way to the distribution line within Heinz Field’s PNC Champions Club, Dennis Henderson of Hanover, Beaver County was not emotional, but eager to ‘get it right, it’s on the list.’
“I did not go anywhere much anyway, and it’s not going to change anything, really,” said Henderson, 71, who became the first of his family and good friends to get a vaccine.
Giant Eagle announced the three-day clinic in partnership with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.
Giant Eagle officials booked all the online appointments via the chain’s scheduling tool hours after the signups opened. A limited number of appointments were made by phone Monday for those without internet or computer access.
The phone registration appointments were over an hour later.
“It was difficult,” said Ross’s Eleanor Reubi, 74, who was grateful for a place in the Heinz Field Clinic. She said she initially had some concerns, but now she feels confident about the safety and importance of being vaccinated.
“I was hesitant, I will not lie,” Reubi said. “But I do not want to get either.”
The Heinz Field Clinic was only available to people in Pennsylvania’s priority group Phase 1A, which includes health care workers, people 65 and older, and people aged 16-64 with certain chronic health conditions. It offers the first of two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Andres is about a year shy of being old enough to qualify for the older age group; she could rather be considered because she has the qualifying health condition of multiple sclerosis.
Her advice to those who have not yet been able to get a dose of vaccine: ‘Keep trying. It’s just such a relief when you get the appointment. And let your friends try for you too. Everyone just tries. ‘
Natasha Lindstrom is an author of Tribune Review. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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