I finally got my Covid jab yesterday afternoon. Hooray! I never imagined I would ever be this excited about getting a needle.
The provincial health department finally decided to include my age group – 60 years old – in the list of those eligible for vaccination. I found out Friday morning that my date with destiny was to be at 2:10 PM on Monday afternoon.
My clinic was in the back and of a large, sprawling mall. There was a brief lineup outdoors to get into the building, and from that point on there was no more waiting. I rolled down the long hallway that was eerily deserted. I realize now that was my first time in a mall since January 2020. Eventually, I came to a huge, giant gymnasium of-a-room. There were people everywhere, but all spread out a comforting 6 feet apart at least, and wearing masks of course.
I have to admit I was impressed by all the organization that was in plain view in front of me. Every single minor detail had been considered and dealt with. There were people directing traffic, screening me, registering me. Some were sanitizing chairs as soon as they were vacated. Others were sanitizing bottles of sanitizer. I was in constant motion until it was time to wait for my compulsory 15 minutes post vaccine. I found out later they immunized 700 people that day. I suppose it could have been stressful, knowing that all the precautions were necessary because the threat of catching Covid was potentially everywhere. But I didn’t find it disturbing, more reassuring that it was safe to be there.
I feel like I just joined an exclusive club. Something I had waited for and even aspired to, and I had just been granted a membership. The last time I felt this way, at least a little bit, was when I became a mother 27 years ago. I realize the two events aren’t on the same level at all, but then and now I suddenly have something in common with a whole bunch of other people. And, I’m also partly on the way towards more freedom to be in the world without threat to my health.
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