Stuck in the snow with expiring doses, the workers put them to good use.

On Tuesday, after a COVID-19 vaccine drive at Illinois Valley High School, administrator Michael Weber, along with his staff and volunteers, were on their way back to Grants Pass, Oregon to deliver their last six vaccinations of the day. However, during their ride home, traffic was suddenly halted by a combination of inclement weather and a car accident down the road. The Moderna vaccine doses in Weber’s possession had already been loaded into needles; at the rate his team was going, they wouldn’t make it back to their clinic in time to administer them before they expired. With administering the vaccines to their designated recipients off the table either way, Weber decided to take the next best choice and offer them to drivers.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Weber explained that he and his staff “decided to start going door-to-door, car-to-car,” offering vaccinations to anyone who was interested. The team carried their supplies with them through the snow, including the doses, rubbing alcohol, gauze, and the necessary paperwork. An ambulance was also on standby nearby in the event a recipient suffered an allergic reaction.

“We were a little nervous because not a lot of people in this part of the state are eager to get the vaccine at this point in time,” said David Candelaria, one of Weber’s staff members.

The majority of drivers declined the shots, but after about 45 minutes of searching, the team found six willing recipients. Several of the recipients were ecstatic to get a lucky vaccine, with one of them being a woman who had missed out on a previous vaccination appointment earlier in the day. All six shots were successfully administered, and no allergic reactions occurred.

“I can’t imagine a better way to spend four hours stuck in a snowstorm,” Weber said.