Vaccine comes to Peaks

People often ask me why we decided to move out to Peaks. I cite three reasons. First, we wanted to live near the ocean. Second, we hoped for a quick commute to downtown Portland (how’s a 15-minute ferry ride sound?). Third, we sought a tight-knit, multigenerational community in which to raise our son.

Peaks handily delivers on all three – but today’s Peaks Island COVID Vaccine Clinic underscored the latter: dedicated community members that care about the place they’ve chosen to call home. The event, which took place at Brackett Church in the center of the island, demonstrated the neighbor-helping-neighbor approach to life out on the Atlantic.

Since last year, Maine’s been delivering vaccine into the arms of healthcare workers and first responders across the state. More recently, Mainers over 70s are now eligible for the jab. But even if one’s eligible, finding vaccine has been trying to put it gently. That changed for over 125 islanders on Valentine’s Day when a group of care team members from MaineHealth and Northern Light Health joined forces to deliver Moderna vaccine to our little rock.

A Collaborative Effort

“This is truly a collaborative effort,” noted Kitty Gilbert, drawing up syringe of 0.5 mL of Moderna vaccine. Kitty, a nurse practitioner by training, runs our island health clinic. Earlier this year, Kitty received a phone call from Peggy Akers, a nurse at Northern Light Health. Extra vaccine had arrived. Could Kitty help get it into the arms of islanders across Casco Bay? With the support of volunteers like Marge Powers and Stephanie Castle (along with a long list of other islanders – clinicians and non-clinicians alike), the Peaks Island COVID Vaccine Clinic moved from idea to reality.

When I arrived for my volunteer shift around 8am, there was already a short line forming outside. The excitement was palpable. It was a big day for many islanders, particularly those cloistered at home unable to cross Casco Bay into town. Inside I followed a series of bright red Valentine hearts past four vaccinators to the checkout station where I would be posted-up. My table was the last stop for islanders before they retired to the chapel for a mandatory 15-minute observation period. It seemed fitting that after an incredibly challenging year, freshly vaccinated residents took pause in this house of worship before heading back into the cold.

A Celebratory Catharsis

The mood in the chapel oscillated between contemplative to celebratory, particularly when dear friends saw one another from across the room. At one point, there was a communal chuckle as a resident dressed in a Chebeague Island sweatshirt announced to the group of septuagenarians (and above), “Don’t worry folks, I haven’t come from the other island – I’m a Peaks islander through and through.” Even in the thick of a global pandemic, us Mainers love to indulge in a bit of friendly inter-island competition. And what can I say, we do like to look out for our own.

The community clinic articulates why we moved here. I feel fortunate to live in such a place where people of all different ages come to together to live amongst the waves, doggedly supporting each other.

UPDATE (1/15/2021): The Portland Press Herald published a lovely piece on the day if you’d like to learn more: https://www.pressherald.com/2021/02/15/vaccine-clinic-brings-hope-relief-to-elders-on-peaks-island/