I am a medical student in my fifth year of my studies. I have one more year after this and it is dawning on me that I am getting closer and closer to being a doctor. It is a strange time for the world and an especially strange time for doctors and medical students. Many doctors have been helping with the influx of COVID patients, in specialities that they have not practised for years, learning as they go. In the same way, many medical students have been helping in any way they can, to ease the workload of overburdened nurses and doctors. It is at this particularly difficult time that I begin to wonder what my role is in all of this.
Over the last few months, I have been working at two vaccination sites in North West London, administering the Pfizer BioNTech and the Astra Zeneca vaccine. More recently, I have been working at the newly set up site at the Śrī Svāmīnārāyaṇa Mandir in Kingsbury, which is believed to be the first Hindu temple in the world to be used as a vaccination site; and is confirmed to be the first in Europe.
Having worked there for almost a month, it is truly amazing to see everyone come together to roll out the vaccines. There are NHS doctors, nurses, health care assistants, pharmacists, medical students, retired doctors, military doctors, and many other volunteers working collaboratively. Members of the temple community have been helping as well, and it is incredible to see people from all faiths come together like this.
One of the barriers in rolling out the COVID vaccine, has been uptake in the BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) groups. Many are unsure about whether it is safe or effective and therefore are apprehensive to get their first dose. For this reason, opening a vaccination site at a temple, has been significant in encouraging people to get the vaccine, especially for those who are Hindu. I think the best example of this, is vaccinating a patient who felt that his first dose was a blessing, particularly since it was happening in a temple.
A week after opening this vaccination site, we had a visit from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. This was special for a number of reasons. Many patients, particularly those from the Asian community, were very excited to see him there. I think it was also very encouraging for some people who were unsure about the vaccine, to see someone of his profile there. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to talk to him about the work at the vaccination site and my role in vaccinating people. It was also a huge morale boost for everyone working and volunteering, to see that our very own mayor had come to see what we had been doing over the last few weeks.
Last Saturday 1, we had our most successful day of vaccinating. Whilst previously we had vaccinated approximately 1,200 patients in a day, we had set a target of 2,000. For context, many mass vaccination sites which were created to vaccinate large numbers, are vaccinating about 600 patients daily. As the day went on and we approached the end of our shift, there was tension in the air as we all began to wonder whether we would hit this target or not. Someone from the temple community had promised that he would treat the entire team to ice cream if we did in fact reach this seemingly impossible goal. It was eventually time for our evening debrief before we wrapped up for the day, and we all waited eagerly to hear how many vaccinations we had been able to administer. 2,080! Many of us stared at each other in disbelief as we clapped and cheered. It was a huge achievement for everyone, and it was a moment I will never forget. We did in fact have a small and socially distanced celebration with ice cream as promised, as we cleaned the space for the next day.
Since that shift, I have had some time to reflect on what was an incredible accomplishment. Every day, we continue to improve and continue to learn how to make things run more efficiently. But I have realised that it is much more than this that has contributed to this vaccination project.
So many people from backgrounds have come together, to achieve the impossible. Every day, it is the generosity of the volunteers and the kindness of every member of staff, which allows us to do what we do. It is the smiles behind every mask and the feeling of community, which have helped us all with the running of this programme. It is truly a privilege to be part of something like this; to be able to work with all of these individuals and to help in this way. And as I leave the temple after each shift, I will take with me a sense of community and hope, knowing that every day more and more people will get vaccinated, and the covid numbers will drop, bringing us closer to normality.
1.Referring to the date: February 20th, 2021
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