The beauty of a vaccination centre

Yesterday was V-day for me part 1.  After months of anticipation and tracking daily in detail all vaccination statistics, it was my time. Actually it came a bit sooner than I expected as I always had mid-June or even a little later in mind.  So needless to say I was filled with joy when the email with the vaccination invite had arrived.  (note for foreign readers:  the vaccination availability in Belgium is prioritized per age and some other factors, so I had to wait until my age came up. Vaccination took up slowly in Europe due to irregular supply but since mid-April, speed is really picking up and now it seems to be going quite fast). 

I walked towards the centre and when approaching the vaccination location for the city of Leuven-  a big event hall at the edge of the city- I saw other bikes passing, leaving, taxi's pulling up and some busses.  A big billboard highlighted the vaccination centre along the express road and the anticipation rose. I saw people walking and biking along me and I assumed most other people there were on their way (or back) for the same reason.  We were all in it together. 

There were volunteers everywhere: at the entry road, parking stewards, greeters at the entrance, ... My ID check at the entrance was done by a mother of Kabouter's classmate. Funny since Jan had met another mother there for his vaccination.  I know quite some people that are volunteering many hours in fact in Leuven or other vaccination centres in the country.  Doctors, pharmacists, nurses, but also teachers, entrepreneurs,  office workers, housemothers, other, ...  So many people dedicating free time to help out.  I hear there are thousands of them per vaccination centre and that it is even hard to get a shift because there are too many volunteers available. How cool is that?

And then so many people in the society are very eager use their invitation and arrive to their appointment to the minute.  We drop our work, we make arrangements, so we can be there.  We all have a common priority. 

I had to think back 1 year ago when we didn't even know whether there would be vaccinations. I had to think back to 16 months ago when we didn't even know what a pandemic was like?  And then you see this: a logistic machine which is impressive. Despite all Belgium's organizational blunders ( when we think of strategic stock against pandemics, the distribution of face masks, the lack of CO2 meters and self-tests in schools, etc etc...), well at least the organization of the vaccination centres is impressive.  Up to the little details like music playing adapted to the birth age of the invited people (in Leuven and Ghent) or gorgeous city landscape pictures projected on the walls (in Deinze), ... 

And it felt so great...after frustrations and doubt in other people and in society as a general in previous months because of anti-vaxxers, sour people, professional complainers, racists, intolerate people etc....it felt so great to see this goodness in society.  A whole global world has pulled together for one goal last year: get the world vaccinated and get rid of this pandemic: financially, logistically, ... It's the beauty of a vaccination centre.