For much of the past two months I have been working as a volunteer steward at the Aviva Stadium Mass Vaccination Centre with the Dublin City Volunteer organisation. The Volunteer team manage the queueing systems (yes - there are queues!) and we act as stewards at key points for the one-way system over three floors. If you are familiar with the Aviva, vaccination is taking on the third floor in the large bar area. It is all very efficient, with the Volunteer, Security, and Medical teams working well together. Everybody is always in good humour and the best part of the job is seeing the relief on the faces of people who have just received their vaccine.
The Volunteer team is very diverse, with people from all over the world "doing their bit". Most are young people giving up their time in a good case, but there are a few retirees like me who are glad of something to do during the Pandemic. If you wish to volunteer - there are often opportunities posted on the Dublin City Volunteer website.
It is weird to think that this is a historic moment in human history. All over the world in sports stadia, car parks, and medical centres - there are people queueing up to have a needle jabbed into their arm. It is desperately sad that people are still dying in such large numbers in places like India for want of a vaccine. What is happening is a great relief to us all here in Ireland, but relief is not spread evenly all over the world. I do hope that lessons will have been learned for when the next Pandemic comes along.
 |
 |
