Wheelchair users are starting to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and report being relieved that they may soon be immune to the virus. “In short, it is amazing! I have waited on this since March, and I feel like I can now finally see the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel,” says New Mobility web partner Cory Lee Woodard, who has spinal muscular atrophy. “There’s truly no better feeling. I even teared up immediately after getting the vaccine because I was so happy.”

Woodard’s mother works for a nursing home, which put her near the top of the priority list of people receiving vaccinations. He accompanied her when she showed up for her appointment, and they gave him a vaccination as well. “My left arm, where I received the vaccine, has been a bit sore, but not bad at all,” says Woodard, who runs the popular travel site, Curb Free with Cory Lee. “The only real side effect that I’ve experienced was dizziness.” He says it was minimal and lasted about 30 minutes the morning after the injection. “I have felt great ever since.”

Justin Stark, a quad rugby player with the Tampa Generals, has an office in the Tampa General Hospital, one of the five Florida facilities designated to receive the initial batch of the vaccine because of its cold storage capabilities and central location. “The hospital had their phases to vaccinate team members — front line workers in the first group, then people doing patient care, and eventually my group came up because of my office location,” he says. “It was around the third week, so they were pretty quick. Although I’m a quadriplegic, it was not based on my medical history and did not require a doctor’s note.”

The medical professionals had him wait about 15 minutes after the injection in case of a serious reaction. About five hours later his arm became sore and he took ibuprofen for two days. “I also developed chills the second night that lasted a few hours. By the morning of day three all symptoms were completely gone.” The symptoms didn’t prevent him from any of his normal daily activities, and he will receive the second dose this week.

“I am definitely happy to have gotten the vaccine and realize I’m very lucky to have gotten it so quickly without going through the hassle many citizens are going through trying to get it,” says Stark. “We have been dealing with this for almost eight months and have become accustomed to being vigilant, so it’s not like flipping a switch where I’m all of a sudden going back to pre-COVID days.” It will take around two weeks after his second dose for him to develop immunity to the virus, and he is still going to be careful since no one knows yet if a vaccinated person can be a carrier.

Check Pharmacies, Hospitals and Government Websites for Vaccines

Like Stark and Woodard, Lex Frieden received his dose because of his association with a medical facility. “I’m a professor at the medical school. The medical school has vaccines for the doctors, and I’m not a medical doctor, but they vaccinated all the med school faculty,” says Frieden, who is on staff at TIRR Memorial Hermann. “So my advice is don’t worry about what kind or where they’re getting it, get the first one you can get.”

Frieden, a quadriplegic, is considered an architect of the Americans with Disabilities Act and a leader of the independent living movement. It’s no surprise that he has strategies to share with those who want the vaccine but don’t work, or are related to someone who works, in a medical facility. “Whether you have a doctor, specialist or PCP, ask them to put you on a list. Just get on a list,” he says.

The vaccine spoils within three days if it’s outside the freezer. “Those who have it must get rid of it,” says Frieden. “It’s not like they’re going to sit on it and hold it, and they don’t want to lose any. So what’s happening is the systems are vaccinating their own people, then other hospital workers in the community, EMS providers and some essential workers in the cities, people who work for public health and so on. And as they have worked their way through most of those, they are now reaching out to the public.”

He’s been helping people find doses, and last Sunday he called half a dozen pharmacies about any that they may have. “They’re all very polite, and most of them told me theirs are reserved for nursing homes and they are not able to provide them to our community. Some said they gave it to a number of walk-in people that day but that now they’re out — but may have some on Sunday.”

Frieden’s main advice is to check with anyone who may have doses available. “Don’t wait on somebody to call you! Don’t think that just because you have a disability somebody’s going to invite you to get a shot,” he says. “It may happen, but don’t count on it.”

In addition to local pharmacies and hospitals, Frieden suggests following department of health sites as well as local and county sites. “Every state is doing it a little bit differently,” he says. “Every city or county is managing it a little bit differently. You can learn a little by watching TV or reading the newspapers, but they’re always a little behind. The trick is to stay a little ahead.”

Have you received a COVID-19 vaccination yet? If so, how did you obtain it, and what advice would you give other wheelchair users?

Photo by Lauren Bishop/CDC