Edith Brown rolled her eyes heavenward as her husband, Columbus Brown, pulled out his wallet to flash his bounty hunter's badge.
Columbus, 77, handed his wife Edith, 74, a stack of papers that had "PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE" highlighted in pink, and dug behind his driver's license to produce certified proof of his bounty hunter status.
"Have you ever met a bounty hunter?" Columbus asked a bystander as he and his wife stood in line at The Pharmacy at Wellington in west Little Rock on Friday to get their second dose of the vaccine.
Earlier that morning, long before the doors opened for the day's first appointment, Renee Elliot pulled a blue wagon -- packed to overflowing with boxes of alcohol swabs, bundles of pens and dozens of plastic clipboards in rainbow colors with vaccine consent forms and informational booklets attached -- down a long concrete sidewalk from the front doors of the pharmacy to a vacant storefront six doors down.
Little Rock businessman and developer Larry Crain owns the strip of storefronts off Wellington and offered -- free of charge -- the vacant space to the pharmacy to set up the vaccination clinic.
The clinic opens its doors at 9 a.m. and keeps a steady flow of patients until 5 p.m. five days a week.
Inside, the space is wide open from the concrete floor to the sky-high ceilings with exposed ductwork. The steel on the unfinished walls glints from the sun glaring through floor-to-ceiling windows encasing the storefront.
Elliot, the mother of The Pharmacy at Wellington's pharmacist and co-owner Nick Dziurkowski, had been volunteering at the clinic ever since the pharmacy received its first vaccine shipment the week of Christmas.
The retired fifth-grade teacher and commercial freight pilot had gotten her pharmacy tech license years earlier for times such as this when she could pitch in.
"I wanted to do my part and give back to the community during this pandemic," Elliot said, before pointing to a donated plastic-wrapped paper plate of cookies. "This has just been so great. Everybody is so appreciative. They bring us cookies to thank us. They're so sweet. It's like a celebration."
Outside, a 2-foot-high chalkboard easel with syringes drawn in white chalk and an arrow with the word "VACCINE" in blue point to the clinic down the sidewalk.
The colorful chalkboard signs -- created by Maddilyn Smith, the wife of pharmacist Brandon Smith -- wind like a Candy Land board game, directing patients from one station to the next.
"COVID VACCINE HERE by appointment ONLY"
"Please wait 15 minutes before leaving"
"SCHEDULE YOUR 2ND dose APPOINTMENTS here. You must wait 15 minutes to leave"
"STOP. PLEASE WAIT HERE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE."
A few rows of white plastic chairs -- spaced exactly 6 feet apart -- are to the left of the front door, where patients sit after they collect a clipboard from the check-in station.
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To the right sit even more rows of the evenly spaced white chairs, where patients go after turning in the clipboards with completed paperwork. The space also is used to monitor the patients who have received the shot.
Nurses as well as pharmacists -- and pharmacy students -- dole out the shots behind "clinics" created out of black cloth room dividers and plastic tables.
"This week, they shipped us the Moderna vaccine," said Brittany Sanders, a pharmacist and co-owner of The Pharmacy at Wellington.
Sanders, who was named the 2020 Pharmacist of the Year by the Arkansas Pharmacist Association, spearheaded the clinic's creation and is at the helm of the operation.
The pharmacy received fewer doses of the vaccine this time than in weeks past and Sanders grimaces at what that means.
"We won't get to vaccinate as many," she said.
Pharmacies receive a notification each Friday telling them how many doses they will be allotted for the following week.
Pulaski County, with its many hospitals and medical clinics, is a 'high vaccination county,'" Sanders said, which means the state Health Department diverts vaccine doses to other counties with lower rates.
About 240 Arkansas pharmacies have volunteered to administer the vaccine.
Not every site receives a shipment each week, said state Epidemiologist Jennifer Dillaha.
"We work to provide vaccine as it is available, and we are still working with a limited supply," Dillaha said.
The vaccine is stretched to include all counties in the state.
"We then look at the vaccination rates of different counties as well as the population of residents who are 70 and older," Dillaha said. "If a county has a low vaccination rate or a large population of people 70 and older, we try to shift additional doses to that area. Depending on the area, this may mean splitting doses among multiple pharmacies or a single location."
The Pharmacy at Wellington has received more than 7,000 doses -- averaging about 1,000 each week -- since the vaccination clinic was opened at the end of December.
Sanders said the pharmacists went on the road for some of those doses to hold clinics at hospitals and behavioral health facilities.
Last week, the pharmacy received only about 200 doses.
'LIKE CHRISTMAS, ONLY BETTER!'
Columbus Brown, his left sleeve still rolled up, flexed his bicep and grinned broadly.
His wife shook her head, trying not to smile and encourage his antics.
"The left arm. That's close to my heart," the real estate broker and part-time bounty hunter said, before he let out a loud "whoop" as he threw his arm high in the air.
Edith Brown couldn't hold back any longer and let out a cheer.
"I've been looking forward to this day," she said. "I'm just JUBILANT!"
Columbus Brown scoffed when asked if he was worried about the side effects of the vaccine.
"There's only one person I fear and that's God," Columbus said. "If anything is going to happen, it's going to happen."
Megan Smith -- a pharmacist and a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who volunteers twice a week at the clinic to give shots -- smiled broadly at the celebration.
"The reactions, wow. It's just a joy to be able to help," Smith said. "Everyone is so joyful and thankful. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I'm grateful that we get to be part of the solution."
Debbie Fields, a registered nurse at the psychiatric hospital Pinnacle Pointe in Little Rock, sat in one of the white chairs and twisted her car keys nervously.
She was there for her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Even with her medical education, she was anxious when she got the first shot. She almost backed out, she said, but then her longtime friend, Kathy Coon, grabbed her hand and walked in with her.
"I believe in the vaccine," Fields said. "I don't know why I was anxious. Just the unknown, I guess. But I'm a woman of deep faith."
She took a deep, steadying breath.
"But I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for others," she said.
Fields said she didn't have any side effects other than a sore arm and a little lethargy with the first dose, but the second dose, she heard, was supposed to be worse.
When it was her turn, Fields peppered Smith with one question after the next.
"Are there more side effects with the second dose than the first?"
"Should I take Benadryl afterwards?"
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"I'm a diabetic. Should I watch for anything different?"
"How long should I wait before getting the shingles vaccine?"
Fields apologized for the line behind her and thanked Smith for taking the time to answer all of her questions.
"I needed to hear all of this. You have no idea how much you helped me today," Fields said, smiling. "I appreciate the job you do. Thank you."
Smith and the others administering the shots continued to hear jubilation and gratitude from the patients as the day progressed.
"I feel liberated!" said Judi Short.
"It's like Christmas, only better!" said her husband, Steve Short.
"Thank you," said Lauren Bolin, a Little Rock physician assistant who had her five children with her to watch her get the vaccine
'NOT A MONEYMAKER'
After nearly two months, the vaccination clinic at The Pharmacy of Wellington runs like a well-oiled machine.
Everyone has a role to play and performs it nearly flawlessly, Sanders said.
Early in the morning, Dziurkowski draws up the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine doses.
Each one is different.
Moderna requires a 0.5-ml dose while Pfizer takes 0.3 ml. Moderna doesn't have to be diluted while Pfizer must be reconstituted. Moderna has 10 doses per vial while Pfizer has five. Moderna is refrigerated while Pfizer is kept frozen.
"We can't draw up a whole lot at a time," Dziurkowski said as he held up a glass vial and pulled the vaccine into the syringe, then capped the needle and tossed it into a plastic bag with other prefilled syringes.
Sanders had to hire a few workers, buy extra supplies and a new freezer -- padlocked and placed in a corner of the store behind the Dippin' Dots freezer -- in order to conduct the clinic.
The pharmacists also have to file thousands of insurance claims, report the individual vaccines to the Health Department within three days, and set up and maintain a system for appointments and waiting lists.
While the vaccine is free, the Health Department does not pay the pharmacists or reimburse their expenses.
But the drugstores can bill the recipients' insurance for an administration fee, which typically ranges from about $15 to $30 for each dose.
The fee is not standard from one insurer to the next. Medicare pays $16.94 for the first dose and $28.39 for the second.
"It's definitely not a moneymaker," said John Vinson, chief executive officer of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association. "There is an infusion of some revenue you weren't expecting, but the real reason they do it is to get our economy back open, save lives and serve the community."
'FACES OF TRUST'
The idea to partner with pharmacists to roll out the vaccine was a brilliant one, Vinson said.
"Relationships matter," Vinson said.
He praised the chain pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS, saying they're "working their tails off," but said the corporate structure is sometimes a hindrance.
"The local Arkansas independent pharmacies are more nimble and able move quicker in a time of pandemic and a time of crisis to meet the needs of the population," Vinson said.
The independent pharmacists were the first to be mobilized and on the ground during the first two weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Vinson said.
"Eventually Walmart was able to partner and help, but it took some time to make it way up the corporate ladder," he said. "I learned a lot through that experience as a young pharmacist. What we're doing now is just applying that much longer sustained effort across a much broader population. We're trying to provide emergency services during a crisis for 3 million people instead of 13,000."
[DOCUMENT: Health Department report showing doses per county » arkansasonline.com/27doses/]
Dillaha said the pharmacies are doing an "excellent job" and also should be commended for their work in scheduling appointments, working through waiting lists and maintaining good customer communication.
"There is still not enough vaccine for everyone who wishes to be vaccinated, but these pharmacies are making sure that everything is in place so that whoever wants a vaccine can get one as soon as a dose is available and that no doses go to waste," she said. "We appreciate their dedication and look forward to continuing to work together as this effort progresses."
Eventually, the number of vaccine providers in the state will increase to more than 1,300 once there is enough supply available, Dillaha said. That figure includes pharmacies as well as medical clinics.
Sanders said she and the pharmacy personnel and volunteers often work from early in the morning until well into the evening on vaccination clinic days.
It's worth it, though, to give back to the community and to show just how capable pharmacies are in getting the vaccine out to the masses.
"We're the faces of trust in the communities we serve," Sanders said. "People have a relationship with their local pharmacist. They're more accepting of the vaccine after seeing us embracing it. It instills trust."