Friday, March 26, 2021

Getting Jabbed

You know your life has become weird, when you look forward to your vaccination appointment with excitement, akin to what you'd feel going on an overseas vacation (well, maybe not quite - I guess I'm prone to exaggeration sometimes 😀).

We got our Pfizer vaccines together, same day, same time, which was unexpected, but welcome. The level of efficiency in making the appointments was impressive. We were told to wear short sleeves to assist the vaccinating process. HOWEVER, on the day of our appointment, it must have been one of THE coldest days of the year with frigid 22mph winds ... well, I am usually a rule-follower, but I draw the line when it comes to my temperature regulation and comfort-level.

We waited in our car, as instructed, waiting for the phone call 5 minutes before our appointed time. The caller spoke to each of us, going through a list of questions about our health and exposure to COVID, and then instructed us to enter the building, wearing masks. No problem. Except that, to our puzzlement, the volunteer we encountered inside the entrance told us we had to remove our masks and put on a clean, disposable one provided for us. What??? This struck us as rather bizarre - this meant that for some moments, each new arrival breathes out, unmasked, into the air where strangers are assembling, albeit 6 feet apart. It really struck me as odd. Okay, I get that they wanted people to wear CLEAN masks, but heck, wouldn't donning a clean disposable one over a cloth mask do the job even better? I prefer my triple layered home made one to the flimsiness of a mass produced disposable one, anyway. I didn't make a fuss, though, beyond my initial taken-aback-ness and questioning the procedure, and followed directions.


Dale took his gloves off to take this photo whilst in line

Thereafter, the entire operation, both of labeling (floor spacings, dirty and clean pens, directions through the labyrinth) and the volunteers' efficiency and helpfulness was a very smooth and faultless operation. We were given a card listing the time we could depart after waiting the required 15 minutes, post-stabbing. We saw volunteers wiping down chair seats, backs and arm rests as people got up and left. Volunteers stepped forward and helped people find their way without leaving them to wander aimlessly around.

We had no side effects, aside from a tenderness at the vaccination site, and yes, we may have slept in a little longer the next morning so perhaps we were a tad fatigued. Our second Pfizer shot is already scheduled - can't wait!

What a well-run and efficient operation the whole process was!

2 comments:

Shelley Burbank said...

I’ve been impressed with the organization overall considering the scale of the need.

Debbie said...

Glad to hear it's well run in most places. It's a grand scale, but shows we have the resources and the will to get things done.