Hello, Monday!
It was a lovely Monday morning. The sun is up and about. The birds are chirping. And, I'm getting my first jab of vaccine thanks to my wife who asked the city health office if I can go with her and get vaccinated. The center wasn't far away. In fact, it was located in a place we frequently visit before the pandemic - the mall!
Early To Bed
The office of the city health department called my wife at 11 o'clock p.m. the night before to tell us that I was included in the list queued for the day. There were 1,000 on the list aside from those who are getting their second dose so I was expecting a long wait in line.
Having found out late that evening, I was both excited and a little circumspect. How would my body react? Will it really help protect me from the virus? Is it safe? So many questions...
To Jab or Not To Jab
For the record, we talked about it extensively in the preceding weeks. Asked friends who got vaccinated already and they were very happy with the experience. I felt like they were more confident after getting the second dose and somewhat reassured that they have some form of protection from this horrible disease.
We also asked doctors what they think about it and recommendations. My wife's OB-GYN explained the pros and cons and what it means to get vaccinated. We were convinced not only because of how thorough she explained but because she is a friend and knows that she will always look out for our well-being.
Photos From The Queue
The senior citizen's line is quite short. Must be nice to get there and be done with the whole thing in 30 minutes. :)
The people complied with physical distancing. The mall guards and health workers saw to it that health protocols were observed. Kinda cruel to stay in line hungry and tired, and behind the table where they take the vital signs were food stores! lol
The mall air conditioning wasn't turned up to the coolest but it wasn't really a hot day so we just #chilled in line.
My first close-up look at how things were done. Coincidentally, this is the same person who gave me my jab.
We passed by the second dose table. Not many people are left in line at this time. Or, they might have slowed down as it is already almost lunchtime.
It was already past 1 o'clock in the afternoon; still a long way to go and we haven't eaten lunch yet. The guy in the black shirt in front of the guy drinking water cut in line because he knew the guy drinking water got my blood pressure up. My wife and I had a long chat about it and decided not to call him out in public as I did not want to embarrass him and have a big argument about it with him and his friend. Was I wrong to let it pass?
The health frontliners exuded professionalism in their manner and speech. I was impressed.
Finally!
We finished everything at 4 o'clock. That's six hours of waiting, writing on forms, answering interview questions, and our vital signs being taken before the actual jab.
The "Veggies and Cheese" #Pizza was a nice little reward for our long day as I no longer wanted to cook when we get home. Also, there were some stores giving out freebies to people who received their jabs already. Maybe we will get it when we go back for groceries...
And, that's our experience of getting vaccinated this week. Thankfully, I did not feel any of the symptoms nor side effects that I read about on social media. It was a good experience overall so kudos to the organizers and health workers who were there and did their jobs quite well.
So, thanks for dropping by. Till the next blog post. Keep safe everyone!
Mabuhay!!!
*Thanks to @bearone for the @hiveph badge.
**Also, I own all of the photos.