Late last Friday afternoon, Alex received a text from his surgery informing him that he can book in on-line to have his first vaccination dose. The earliest appointment was for 7:30 pm on the following Monday and he took it.
On Monday afternoon, he received another text informing him that he could come anytime between 4:00 and 7:00. He replied saying that he would be at the Maxted Road Vaccination Centre for 6:30.
"This is an amazing program. The speed of the roll-out is just remarkable. I'm quite aware that there's a lot of opinions about the vaccine but I'd rather take my chances with this thing than with COVID-19." says Alex.
"As soon as I pulled into the carpark, everyone was just so polite and helpful. There were lots of staff ready to help and a doctor even took the picture above. You have to bear in mind that some of these people have been here for hours.
I was at the centre for about twenty-five minutes, fifteen of which were spent just sitting down in recovery after the jab.
I was warned that I might experience headaches, nausea and a little temperature, over the next couple of days, all of which I kind of would expect anyway."
Alex's message is clear and he urges anyone and everyone who gets the call, to take it up.
Stay safe, everyone.
UPDATE - 13th November 2021
I had my second jab a while back now and have my booster tomorrow. Saw this on Facebook recently and thought it was quite apt:
I'm fully vaccinated and, no, I don't know what's in it - neither this vaccine, the ones I had as a child, nor in the Big Mac, or hot dogs, or other treatments, whether it's for cancer, AIDS, the one for polyarthritis, or vaccines for infants or children.
I also don't know what's in Ibuprofen, Paracetamol, or other meds, it just cures my headaches & my pains.
I don't know what's in the ink for tattoos, vaping, Botox and fillers, or every ingredient in my soap or shampoo or even deodorants. I don’t know the long-term effect of mobile phone use or whether or not that restaurant I just ate at REALLY used clean foods and washed their hands.
In short...
There's a lot of things I don't know and never will…
I just know one thing: life is short, very short, and I still want to do something other than just going to work every day or staying locked in my home. I still want to travel and hug people without fear and find a little feeling of life "before".
As a child and as an adult I've been vaccinated for mumps, measles, polio, chickenpox, and quite a few others; my parents and I trusted the science and never had to suffer through or transmit any of the said diseases and,
I'm vaccinated, not to please the government but:
- To not die from Covid-19.
- To NOT clutter a hospital bed if I get sick.
- To hug my loved ones
- To Not have to do PCR or antigenic tests to go to a restaurant, go on holidays, and many more things to come.
- To live my life.
- To see and hug my family and friends
- For Covid-19 to be an old memory.
- To protect us.