An inside look at a Missoula COVID-19 vaccine clinic

MISSOULA — We are almost a year into this pandemic. When it started, we didn’t know that much about COVID-19 and certainly didn’t have a vaccine for it.

But now, we do. And every armful of medicine gets us closer to what we remember as "normal'.

The Missoula City-County Health Department recently allowed us to watch one vaccination process from start to finish.

It served as a moment in time -- and a moment of hope.

It's an encounter that will take less than three minutes for one Missoula County patient. But three minutes that took almost a year to get here.

A mysterious virus that changed our lives and we waited for science to figure it out. The vaccine could come with some manageable side effects, but for most a far cry from COVID-19 itself.

"Headache, muscle ache, vomiting, fever. It only lasts between one and three days, sometimes four," said Toni Taylor who has been a nurse for 50 years.

Normally, you’d find her on the front lines of national disasters for the Red Cross but this year he stayed behind.

A vaccination clinic has a much better vibe than a testing clinic. The final step offers hope -- and some relief.

The Band-Aid given following the shot is a badge of courage most of us will get to wear in a war we never expected to fight.

Although we still have months to go before everyone who wants to be vaccinated can. his is a good start -- and it's what good nurses do.

“I have been doing this for almost a year. I got in at the ground floor a year ago when no one really knew what was going on and I'm still here,” Taylor said.

The health department hosted a public vaccine clinic on Thursday with additional events set for Friday and Monday.