Like A Shot In The Arm

Not all heroes wear capes, sometimes they're not even allowed to wear jumpers regardless of the cold. Take Daniel for instance. I shared a room with him today for 10 hours where we had to keep the large windows opened to comply with Covid regulations. And it was cold. Ever so cold. Ever so very very cold. I sat there wearing my jumper and kicking myself for not having a proper jacket like the idiot I am and yet Dr Daniel had to stand there in his short-sleeved scrubs, anything covering the arms falling foul of the aforementioned Covid regs. And yet, he never whinged about the cold. Not even once. The smile never wavered from his face once. Not even after he repeated his oft-quoted script to patients for the 80th time that day. In all, Daniel and I vaccinated 80 people in just under 10 hours today - one lovely Haringey resident every 7 mins.

And they were all lovely. For many of them, Daniel and I were the first physical contact they'd had with people in months - the reality of long term shielding. Some came still drying their tears, having just found out through Twitter that Topshop had gone and their jobs along with it - the reality of the long Covid shadow ever present. And yet, they all came with smiles on their faces, the quiet hope that with a little needle on their arms, they are playing a small but pivotal role in the battle to get rid of this awful thing. They are. And we will.

We touched 80 lives today. And the special thing about it more than anything else was the fact that same experience was unfolding in 4 other rooms at the vaccination centre today. Hundreds of lives injected with a bit more hope , a bit more certainty, a bit more life. Just like the hundreds that were touched yesterday, and the day before, and will be tomorrow. Because this is how we win. We stand strong together, look after each other and we keep on smiling. Just like Dr Daniel.