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32 | 01940 She is hope's heroine BY ALLYSHA DUNNIGAN Margot Bloom of Lynnfield was the vaccine coordinator for the CIC mass vaccination site at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. PHOTO: SPENSER HASAK Margot (Kreplick) Bloom chose to follow in her family’s footsteps by pursuing a pharmacy degree and working in pharmaceutical sales for more than 20 years. Bloom’s father owned the bygone Paramount Drug on Union Street in Lynn where she said she used to spend hours helping out behind the counter and completing tasks around the store. “I’m one of those people who, at 6 years old, knew exactly what I wanted to be,” said Bloom, who lives in Lynnfield. “I was always in the pharmacy; I loved working there and helping people and getting to know families.” At that time, Bloom said there were dozens of family-owned pharmacies around the city but now, the landscape features mostly larger companies like CVS and Walgreens. Although Bloom never practiced with her pharmacy license, she said in 2009 One brand. Two collections. THREE LEVELS OF LUXURY. RECEIVE UP TO 3 FREE ELIGIBLE MONOGRAM APPLIANCES* or generous credits toward the appliances of your choice. January 1 – December 31, 2021 *See full model list for details. Minimalist Collection 2005 - 2019 DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE AT TRI-CITY SALES! Three Generations & Family Owned Serving the North Shore for Over 60 Years CALL OR TEXT EITHER ONE OF OUR LOCATIONS 262 Highland Ave. Salem, MA 978.774.6100 95 Turnpike Rd. Ipswich, MA 978.412.0033 SHOP ONLINE: TRI-CITY-SALES.COM 13214523
SUMMER 2021 | 33 she decided to take a step back from pharmaceutical sales so she could spend more time with her small children. For that reason, she opted to go into retail pharmacy, working at Rite Aid and then Eaton Apothecary in Lynn. “My family is from Lynn, so it was kind of like I went full circle when I worked at Eaton because they were two blocks from where my father had his pharmacy,” Bloom said. Eaten was bought out by CVS, and so Bloom left for another opportunity — which then got stripped away when the pandemic hit, leaving her unemployed. The pandemic brought a lot of struggles to many families, including one of Bloom’s best friends. Bloom’s friend Karen Nascembeni lost her husband, Steven Richard, 58, to COVID-19 while she was in a druginduced coma from COVID-19. Karen said even though she was in a coma at the time, she had a feeling that her husband had died. Steven died five days after being admitted to the hospital, and Karen got his bed after. “She felt his spirit and she knew he was there in the room,” Bloom said. “She experienced something where she felt his presence in the room.” Karen introduced Bloom to her husband, so Bloom said the couple meant a lot to her. A few days after Richard died, his father died from COVID-19. After that, Bloom’s friend and father-in-law died from COVID-19 too. The loss of her job and friends and family made the pandemic tough for Bloom, but she said it seemed like fate when, shortly after, she got a job offer to be the vaccine coordinator at Fenway Park. “I felt like this was Steve looking out for me,” Bloom said. “This was my role to play in the pandemic.” Bloom was employed by CIC Health to oversee vaccine distribution at Fenway Park, which she said was perfect for her because it was very detail- and numberoriented, two aspects of which she has a great deal of experience, and enjoys. Bloom said, throughout all of this, she kept Richard’s memory close to her heart, sometimes even wearing a T-shirt bearing the phrase “Hello Darling,” which had a drawing of Karen, and was sold as part of a fundraising effort toward a photography scholarship in Richard’s name. Bloom was wearing the shirt when she got her COVID-19 shot, and said she also wore it for her first couple of shifts at Fenway, too. “It was just really interesting to know that her story resonated with so many people, and I think they were looking out for me like ‘OK Margot, this is your calling,’” Bloom said. Bloom’s job was to oversee the distribution of vials of the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, keep track of the number of syringes used, count the number of vials left at the end of the night and try to keep everything running smoothly. At its peak, Bloom said Fenway distributed about 1,300 syringes per day, with most people saying it was a smooth, easy process. The work put into creating vaccinedistribution centers, like Fenway and Gillette, consisted of a lot of behind-thescenes effort. Bloom said there were a lot of different people assigned to different parts of the project and with everyone bringing their expertise, it was “very successful.” “I would joke with people and say, ‘Hey, you would wait longer in line at Space Mountain than you do for this,’” Bloom said. “It was really something historic to be part of and I’m glad that I had that opportunity.” Fenway was open for vaccine distribution from Feb. 2 until March 28, when baseball games returned. When that site closed, Bloom went to the Hynes Convention Center, where she continued in the same position — but on a much larger scale. The Hynes site absorbed the project at Fenway, and Bloom said the peak at Hynes was about 7,300 vaccinations per day. Even contending with such a large volume, they were still able to maintain a smooth and organized process, Bloom said. Her days at the clinic usually began at 4 a.m. and lasted until 8 p.m., so Bloom said she is going to take some time off to think of her future plans and spend time with her family. With the Hynes vaccination center closing in late June, Bloom is unsure of her next step, but said she is happy she was able to have a positive impact on people’s lives, especially during the pandemic. “This job has opened up a lot of opportunities," Bloom said.
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