Tuesday, September 21, 2021
7:00 a.m. Green Guest House
Mae Sot, Thailand
In a twist, I actually have a story to tell from yesterday. Something actually happened. And the happy result is that my body is currently swimming in Pfizer vaccine and busy preparing its defences for if and when the real virus shows up.
I was finally able to register for one of the vaccine programs. When I showed up at the vaccine clinic, I found a large room with 220 chairs set out in 10 socially distanced rows. The local resident English expert was summoned to help me, and I was led to chair number twelve of row number one. Eleven people were sitting there already, and I simply took the seat behind the last person. And then to my surprise, a medical team showed up at the front of the row with a trolley. And they simply went down the row like it was an assembly line and started jabbing needles into arms.
I was having so much fun. I just love to watch systems and procedures and think about how they developed that system and what was good about it or bad about it. They clearly started with six preloaded needles for the first batch. My understanding is that the Pfizer vaccine has to be kept in extremely cold containers and handled under strict conditions. So they had taken the first vial from a special cold freezer or refrigerator somewhere behind the scenes and divided it into six doses. These six needles were placed inside a special container on that trolley, and they were quickly injected into the arms of the first six people. I noticed that they had an efficient procedure for the rolling up of the sleeve, for checking paperwork, for removing stickers and putting these stickers on paperwork, and for sterilizing the arm with alcohol wipes, etc. Three women worked as a team to do this. And I noticed that they carefully rolled the trolley past the shoulder of the next person so that the person being inoculated didn’t actually see the needle being removed from the container and prepared. This was all done somewhat behind the person and out of their field of view. I assumed this was done on purpose just in case needles freaked out anyone.
Once they reached the end of the first batch of six needles, there was a lull in activity. Two of the women left, and I guess they went back to wherever the vaccine was in cold storage to get the second vial and prepare the next six doses. The five women ahead of me in the line were all nurses or doctors as far as I could tell, and they waited patiently and seemed to know what they were doing. So I followed their lead in how to behave.
After ten or fifteen minutes, the women returned with a new container containing the next six needles, and they went down the line until they got to me. There was some extra discussion of me and my form, but my case didn’t seem to present any significant problems, and I was given the vaccine in an efficient manner. I think the whole thing surprised me because I assumed that we would each be taken somewhere somewhat private for the actual injection. I’d seen lots of videos on YouTube of people getting their shots, and people were usually separated and given the injection individually, if only behind a simple curtain. But at this clinic, they came to you out in the open. They just rolled the trolley down the line of chairs and gave you the injection right where you were sitting. It was very efficient.
While I was sitting there, I noticed that on the other side of the room, two much longer rows of local people were getting vaccinated. I assumed they were getting the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccine. And a woman at the front was making a lot of loud announcements over giant portable speakers, and I assume these were all about potential side effects of the vaccine and what to do if you experience them. And I think there were instructions about how we were supposed to remain in our seats for fifteen minutes after our injection just to make sure there were no adverse reactions and that no one passes out and hurts themselves. I didn’t understand any of this, but I took my cue from the women ahead of me, and since they remained in their seats, I remained in mine. I noticed them pointing to a clock on the wall and discussing how far the big hand would have to move until they were free to leave. I waited until all of them had finally gotten up and left their seats before I got up from mine.
At the beginning of this whole process, I had been given a slip of paper which indicated the date of this first dose. And it also showed the date of my second dose: twenty-one days later on October 11th. It also listed the times of 8:30-11:30 and then 1:00-3:00. I wasn’t clear about exactly when I was supposed to return, so before I left, I went back to the windows and spoke with the woman who had originally helped me. She crossed out those times and said that I should come back at exactly 9 a.m. on October 11th, and she wrote that down. So I was glad that I had checked with her. Plus, I wanted to thank her again and somehow get her to understand how much it meant to me that I was able to get this vaccine. I told her that she had made me a very happy man. You’d think that we were getting married.
It’s funny that getting vaccinated is actually a big deal on social media. I have seen lots of pictures on social media of people proudly wearing “I got the vaccine!” stickers or something like that. I get it, but I also find proudly declaring that you got vaccinated to be a bit odd. For me, it isn’t something to be proud of, necessarily. I’m happy about it, but I’m not proud of it. It’s just common sense and a health issue for me. If you break your arm, it’s not like going to the hospital and getting the bone set and getting a cast is something to be proud of. It’s just what you would naturally do for your own benefit. It doesn’t make you a good person. If you cut yourself, you disinfect the wound and apply a bandaid. You wouldn’t then feel proud of yourself for doing so and put on a sticker saying, “I put on a bandaid!” But we have this situation where people post pictures of themselves with their “I got the vaccine!” stickers on their chest, as if they had just done something admirable.
Even this clinic in Mae Sot had a selfie-station set up. There was a bench with a big colorful backdrop and fake trees. And after you got vaccinated, you could sit there and have your picture taken with vaccine-related signage in the background. And then you could post that to your social media. I understand that getting vaccinated also plays a role in protecting other people around you, and I suppose you can be proud of that. But still.
And that is the end of my vaccination story so far. I have to wait three weeks and then return for my second dose, and then I can join the privileged ranks of the fully vaccinated. I’m still kind of reeling in disbelief that I’ve managed to get this taken care of. I believe about 20% of the population of Thailand is fully vaccinated right now. I’ll soon be among their number and in that rarified air.