Patricia Reber walked out of the vaccine clinic at L.A.’s Lincoln Park pumping her arms overhead like a champion. A friend told the 80-year-old she had waited four hours for a shot at Dodger Stadium, but Reber was in and out within 30 minutes.
“This was wonderful,” Reber said from beneath a Kobe Bryant face mask. “I think they’ve done the best they can with the lack of federal help.”
But in the chaotic rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, the triumphs were matched by heartbreaking disappointments and confusion as older residents struggled with appointment websites that crashed because of huge demand while workers waited for official information that never came.
Aria Shafiee, 53, was almost in tears because her attempt to enter the vaccination site at Crenshaw Christian Center in South L.A. had been flatly denied. Shafiee knew she was younger than the 65-year minimum for vaccination under California’s rules but hoped she could get an exception due to her health.
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