Seeing grandchildren, going to the movies, fishing with friends: Waltri McCarter of Hammond has a list of activities he can’t wait to do once he is fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

McCarter was among 1,050 people Saturday to make it through Calumet New Tech High School in Gary to participate in a mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic. Another 1,050 people were expected to walk through the doors Sunday.

“I feel relieved,” McCarter said as he sat in a socially distanced chair in the school’s gymnasium for the required 15-minute post-vaccine waiting period. Now that he is vaccinated, McCarter said he can picture a return to normalcy.

“I’m not as nervous no more,” he said.

McCarter said he was on the fence about getting the vaccine due to allergies and other concerns. It was a difficult decision he prayed on, and when he decided to go through with it, he was hopeful it would be the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. He was not aware what vaccine he would receive Saturday, but was thrilled to find out it was his preferred variety.

He said he has been able to do some of his favorite activities like fishing and walking, albeit alone.

“I love to walk. Just to see people out engaging in life again will be great,” McCarter said. Isolation has been hard. McCar

ter said he is retired and his kids are grown, so much of the time was spent alone. He has been able to visit family, but they stay their distance.

“I walk around the house and wave and talk to them through the door,” he said, adding missed Christmas shopping with and for his grandchildren. He misses hugging them too.

“I miss all that stuff,” McCarter said.

Cathi Minson of Gary said it was wonderful to finally receive the vaccine. Minson said she has been fearful going to the grocery store and other public places because so many people do not wear masks or social distance in public. The vaccine helps quiet that fear, she said.

“It’s a little positive positivity we weren’t receiving before,” Minson said.

Minson said she has an elderly uncle and aunt she misses greatly that she now will soon be able to see again.

“Not being able to see them has been difficult,” Minson said.

Like McCarter, she is anxious to be with family. Minson also looks forward to when her 28-year-old son, who moved in with her at the pandemic’s onset, can be vaccinated.

Gary’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Roland Walker, said things at the clinic were moving along smoothly Saturday.

“Whenever you get the National Guard to help out, things run smooth,” Walker said.

The weekend clinic at Calumet New Tech High School is the first vaccine clinic in Gary for which the National Guard has provided assistance. Walker said the National Guard was on hand for multiple testing events.

Walker said having the ability to bring a clinic to a different part of Gary is important to getting the city’s residents vaccinated.

“Access is everything,” Walker said. The health department is available for vaccines downtown and Methodist Hospitals Northlake is offering vaccines on the city’s West Side. The clinic at the high school brings vaccines closer to the city’s southern border.

He said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine being used makes the logistics of a two-day event at a nonpermanent location much easier.

“I like the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for targeted events like this,” Walker said. Since it is a single-does vaccine, there is no need to schedule a second visit and hold a second dose clinic there. Walker said the city and state are planning another two-day clinic at Holy Angels Cathedral gymnasium April 30 and May 1.

Sharon Johnson Shirley, superintendent of the Lake Ridge New Tech Schools, helped to bring the clinic to the high school.

“I thought the best way to herd immunity is to get the people around you vaccinated,” Shirley said. She contacted the state health department to request the clinic and contacted state Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, for an extra push. “Everybody came together.”

Dr. Kris Box, Indiana State Health Commissioner, worked with Shirley, Walker and Melton to make the event happen. Box visited the vaccination site over the weekend to see how it was working. Shirley and Walker are hopeful the success of the clinic will encourage the state to authorize more mobile vaccination clinics within the city.

“I’m feeling wonderful,” Shirley said the turnout.

Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.