This morning after a little rush getting ready I accompanied my mother to get her first dosis of the vaccine.
Photo by Ivan Diaz Unplash
According to the news she will be vaccinated with AstraZeneca. This vaccine has been having bad reputation lately. It’s been connected to some strokes occurring in Europe and people is a little afraid of getting this vaccine, my mother included. I told her she should not be afraid, all vaccine carry risks; no exceptions. All of them can have side effect, just like medication.
When you have a headache or muscular pain you take a paracetamol or ibuprofen. They can have side effects too, but when we take a tablet. We are not thinking about that. We are only thinking that we are going to feel better. You have to be positive about it otherwise you will live in fear.
First, she got a message with the day and time where she had to go to get the vaccine. It was a hospital none us had heard about before, so I looked on google. Thanks to google maps we saw that they indicated her to go to Aranjuez which is about an hour and half by train from where we are!!!
Why did they want to send her kilometers away from our city? In our own city we have two hospitals. Not one but two.
Oh! Wait. I know the answer, our regional politicians haven’t equipped the local hospitals for all the people they have to vaccine. As I could tell from what the news says there was only two hospitals in Madrid administrating the vaccine. It was only this week that the regional politicians equipped other hospitals to do the job too. Being the old hospital of city where I live that is doing this. (This was two weeks ago)
After declining the appointment to go to Aranjuez. We hoped that they would change the hospital for the next appointment, half a day later my mother received another message with an appointment in the hospital from our city. We pressed the confirm option with the fear that they might change their minds if we left it too long. He, he.
We arrive to the hospital with a few minutes to spare. Living in Covid times I knew I had to wait outside. There were some barriers so people could stand in line to get the vaccine and there were three nurses informing people outside about what they needed to do. My mother went up to them and they informed her of what she needEd to do, I said to her that I would see her when she would come out. I wasn’t the only relative waiting outside. As people with an appointment came I saw as the relatives had to wait outside. We all waited calmly on the same street or the street in front of the hospital, respecting the social distancing.
While I waited I saw a daughter (in her forties) with her mother talking to the nurses outside. She was not happy that she had to let her mother go in alone. I couldn’t hear what she was saying I was quite far away, but by her body language she didn’t want to leave her mother go in alone. I think she said something about doctors ( and yes, I was observing people because I was bored). After a few minutes of discussion, she had to resign herself. They didn’t let her in.
I understand the reason with a pandemic, the fewer people inside the better.
I kept waiting, I was surprise that there wasn’t huge queues, in fact quite the opposite. My mother was only inside about twenty- twenty five minutes.
When she came out, she was happy and I was glad. She was happy because she woul not have to worry about the Covid-19. Of course we still have to take precautions, but it’s a small relief; and when she gets the second dosis, it will be one less thing to worry about.
She told me that they saw her quite quickly and then she had to wait for fifteen minutes in a big room in case people have a bad reaction. She left happy and asked me to take a picture of her outside. She also mentioned that she did not notice when they put her the injection. It wasn’t painful!
It’s been almost two week now and I’m happy to say that apart from some small pain in her arm and general tiredness for a couple of days she is well.
Let’s hope the Covid-19 passes quickly and we can continue travelling and being able to see the love ones that live far from us.
Comentários