As she sat in her car in a parking lot off of Airline Drive on Monday, 58-year-old Robin Lee posed for a picture with a COVID-19 vaccine confirmation sticker while listening to music spun by Charles Leach, an artist better known to the community as "DJ Captain Charles."
"I feel great -- I'm ready for life!" Lee said, adding that she signed up to get the first of two Moderna coronavirus vaccines Monday so she could go back to her normal life and "spread the love -- by hugging people, dancing with people, things like that."
Lee, of Jefferson Parish, was one of thousands of Louisiana residents who had signed up for a COVID-19 vaccine through "Vaccine Fest," a 24-hour event put on by Ochsner Health System and Jefferson Parish government in Metairie.
David and Sarah Farr drive for their scheduled Moderna COVID during Vax Fest at the Shrine on Airline Metairie Monday, March 29, 2021. Ochsner Health and Jefferson Parish sponsored the 24-hour free vaccine event. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
The event, slated to last from 10 a.m. Monday until 10 a.m. Tuesday, had a full musical lineup with local stars, including the Red Wolf Brass Band, DJ Jubilee, Amanda Shaw and the New Orleans Opera Association, who had singers perform in an "Operacade," or a special box wired with a microphone and speaker system.
It also included free or discounted rides to the Shrine on Airline at 6000 Airline Drive, donated by Uber and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.
The marathon vaccination festival had been pushed back from its original scheduling last Wednesday due to threat of flooding and tornadoes.
But the change might have been a blessing in disguise, according to Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng, who was out enjoying the music after scheduling a shot there for her 18-year-old daughter, Miranda Sheng.
That's because Gov. John Bel Edwards announced last week he would open vaccine eligibility to any Louisiana resident 16 or over, a remarkable expansion that took effect Monday as the state expected a record-high shipment of doses of the three emergency-authorized vaccines.
Louisiana residents who made appointments for the COVID vaccine, wait in their vehicles for the Moderna COVID vaccine during Vax Fest at the Shrine on Airline Metairie Monday, March 29, 2021. Ochsner Health and Jefferson Parish sponsored the 24-hour free vaccine event. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
"It's like we couldn't have timed it better," Sheng said. "The weather's gorgeous, too, and we have this 24-hour event. And the music is incredible."
Sheng added that she had worked closely with health officials throughout the pandemic, trying to bring COVID-19 testing and vaccine events to the parish whenever possible. She said that while her emergency operation center and parish government teams were exhausted, they became energized by the hope the vaccine provided.
"This is the most important work of our careers," she said.
Prepared Moderna vaccines filled by a team of Ochsner pharmacists are ready to be distributed during Vax Fest at the Shrine on Airline Metairie Monday, March 29, 2021. Ochsner Health and Jefferson Parish sponsored the 24-hour free vaccine event. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
By the time Vaccine Fest started at 10 a.m., dozens of cars had already begun to snake around the massive parking lot, where Ochsner Health and Jefferson Parish officials had set up six tented vaccine stations and two registration lines for those who hadn't checked in first online.
Ochsner officials said that by 2 p.m., 1,353 doses had been put into arms, with an additional 2,000 appointments on the books. That comprised nearly 52% of the 6,500 doses set aside for the 24-hour event, according to Sarah Roberts, the chief operating officer for Ochsner's community care.
Roberts said Ochsner teams were encouraging anyone who showed up to get a vaccine, whether they had an appointment or not. That included band members hired to play and people who had provided rides for others who had appointments.
"We're removing as many barriers as possible," Roberts said
Among those who got an impromptu shot was 33-year-old Paul Robertson, who plays tuba for the Red Wolf Brass Band. He got his vaccine sitting on a bench backstage following his 10 a.m. set.
"It was a sign, a gate that had to be opened," he said of the serendipity of getting a paid gig and a surprise COVID-19 vaccine to go with it. "It means an opportunity to go back to work, and back to some kind of normal again."
His bandmate, 22-year-old Oscar Perez, agreed. He hadn't seen his brother in over a year, and planned a reunion in Alabama after getting fully vaccinated. Step one was Monday, he said.
"This provides a lot of hope," Perez said of his shot.
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Brass bands, opera and COVID-19 shots: 24-hour Vaccine Fest kicks off on Airline Drive - NOLA.com
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