December 27, 2020
The First Vaccine Dose
It all began with an email. This was odd because the school I work for never sends emails on the weekend. I was told to check it immediately and reply before 9pm that night if I wanted to opt out of the covid vaccine.
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There was no further information given in the email. The only thing they said is that it was voluntary, but if we didn't reply that night they would assume yes. All kinds of speculation abounded.
I had a lengthy discussion about this with my loved ones, and the group chat at work was buzzing all night about this email with people weighing in yes or no. I decided to opt out and replied to the email as such.
Fast forward a few days. Another email was sent to me with detailed information about the vaccine, but didn't I opt out already? The email mistake was like that 'are you sure' prompt when you delete something. The email was asking me one last time, are you sure you don't want the vaccine? What if everyone will want one later and you threw away this opportunity?
I buckled and signed all the paperwork that afternoon. The next Saturday (Dec 26) they announced in another email that vaccination would start the next day, literally less than 24 hours.
Surprisingly, I slept very well that night. The next day, I got on the bicycle and rode very slowly out to the vaccination center which happened to be in a large stadium on the outskirts of Shanghai. As I was riding, I felt confident that this was the right decision, not just because of the travel opportunities that the vaccine could offer but a more fundamental reason: I would no longer be susceptible to COVID. Can't get it nor be a carrier to others. The pandemic would stop with me and it felt like a tiny contribution to a major cause for humanity at such an early stage.
[Update Nov 2022: it is unbelievable how much things have changed. At the time it would be understandable to think in the way I did given pretty much all of what happened in 2020 and that the vaccine rollout gave us hope.]
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When we got there, the place was slam packed. Clearly this vaccine was already very popular. We signed some papers, scanned a QR code, downloaded another app, entered some information and got a separate code. Then we presented the green code to enter the building, all the while with the standard masks and temperature checks. About 30 minutes later we got to the front of the queue where there was a gigantic row of two-dozen desks and staff sitting behind to do the registration. They asked to see my passport, scanned the documents, then asked in Chinese if I had a cold or felt unwell. After saying no, they stamped it and sent me into the stadium.
Clearly, the vast majority there were locals and not expats thus debunking the theory that they were testing the vaccine on foreigners.
Inside the stadium were dozens upon dozens of medical stations set up with two nurses at each station. They all wore masks and hazmat suits. They were each equipped with computers, scanners, swabs, and hundreds of vaccine doses. I was asked a simple question in Chinese: "Are you afraid?" I said no, and the nurses asked me to take off my shirt. No problem with that. The vaccine went in so quickly on my left deltoid I didn't even feel it. They put a swab on the needle point then said it was done. I said, "That was quick" and they said, "Yes, quick" and asked me to please wait in the observation area for 30 minutes afterwards to check for any adverse reactions.
We all chatted, as I knew many of the staff as well as bumped into teachers from other schools. This was mainly to take our minds off of what we had just done, and anything strange that might happen in 30 minutes. Nothing did, and with our "quarantine" finished, that was that. We parted ways and I rode home on the bicycle.
Today's ride: 32 km (20 miles)
Total: 32 km (20 miles)
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