It was only then the penny dropped – I can go on a trip JAMES By MEEHAN
THIS day last week, I was sitting in the garden having a glass of wine with my wife. We were chatting about the vaccine rollout and how friends of ours were now getting their first jab, and the sense of relief they expressed afterwards. We were wondering aloud when our appointments would come when my phone suddenly pinged with a text message.
There it was: ‘Covid-19 vaccine dose 1 appointment: James Meehan, age 61 years – When: Wednesday, 12 May, 11.50am – Where: Helix Theatre Vaccination Centre – Vaccine AstraZeneca.’
The message said to bring my phone, photo ID and a face covering. The one thing it didn’t say was to bring my PPS number.
I read the message a few times, just to be sure it was real. My wife said I had the biggest grin on my face she had ever seen.
I’ve never won the lottery, so I can’t compare the two events, but I can say at that moment a little bit more sunshine and light came into my life.
One the way to the Helix I noticed the traffic. I couldn’t believe how busy the city was and panicked a little about being on time for my appointment.
But I made it on time and, following the direction signs approaching the centre, I was directed into the free car park.
There were plenty of staff to ensure people knew where to go. I was directed to the end of the queue, which was big but it moved fairly quickly.
I was ushered towards the entrance of the Helix where we were organised into 10 queues of about 20 people.
In turn, people in each queue were asked for their name, photo identification and date of birth.
As I stood there I realised a lot of people were neighbours and friends and were busy catching up on the news and gossip.
Each queue moved in turn into the Helix, before being replaced by another line of 20 people and the process started over again.
Inside the Helix, I was shown to one of 10 or so reception desks where you check in. This is where you first need your PPS number, and although I know mine by heart I completely blanked it! Luckily, I had brought my European Health Insurance Card, which has my PPS number on it.
At the desk my name, address and date of birth were checked again and I was given a pamphlet explaining a bit about the AstraZeneca vaccine. I then joined a queue to wait for a vaccinator to be available. The queue moved quite quickly and I was shown to a booth within about five minutes. The nurse, Mairead, was very pleasant and relaxed. She took my PPS number again and rechecked my details.
I was asked some basic medical questions. Had I ever had an allergic response to a vaccine? Was I prone to blood clotting? Was I on blood-thinning medication? And had I received any vaccine in the last two weeks?
I was surprised at this point I wasn’t reminded that, although I was getting the vaccine, I could still get and spread the virus.
All through this I was chatting with Mairead about her sister, who happened to live just down the road from me and is in the process of moving house.
Much to my wife’s annoyance I never wear T-shirts – even on holidays – but I managed to find one at the back of the cupboard, which made getting the jab quite simple.
If you’ve ever had the annual flu vaccine, it’s exactly like that and no more painful – a slight prick of the skin and it’s done. I was given a card, which has the date the first vaccine dose was administered and the batch number.
I need to keep that and bring it with me when I go for the second dose. All in all, this didn’t take much more than five minutes.
After receiving the vaccine, I had to wait 15 minutes to be sure there was no immediate reaction.
The atmosphere queueing for the vaccine was calm, but you could still feel people were a bit nervous.
By now it had changed. People were relieved and happy, chatting and joking with each other or on their phones talking to or texting family and friends.
A friend of mine sat beside me and we chatted about holiday plans, and it was only then the penny dropped. Holiday plans!
The hour it took to get the vaccine had changed everything: being able to plan ahead for the summer, to meet family and friends, to go fishing with my mates and have a real pint in a real pub afterwards.
And it’s not only those of us who have had the vaccine who have hope. Anyone I’ve spoken to since has taken great comfort and hope from the fact that the rollout is now not just for the elderly and those with underlying conditions, but for everyone.
Everyone now wants to know which age group is currently being vaccinated and if you hear of somebody getting the vaccine the first question invariably is ‘what age are they?’
With more vaccinators being recruited, vaccine supplies improving and the efficiency I witnessed at the Helix, this will be sooner rather than later.
This time, it appears, it is not a train coming down the tunnel but the light everyone has waited for for so long.
‘Getting the vaccine took about five minutes’