Project 365 day 37: Vaccination Day

I took my daughter for her first Covid vaccination today. We went to the health centre in Hythe, which is the vaccination hub for several GP practices. We have been shielding since last March, because she is highly vulnerable, so we have not yet adjusted to this new world of face masks, one way systems and marks on the floor - it was her first outing with her flowery mask, and only our second trip to Hythe, our nearest seaside, in almost a year. It felt very stressful to be out among people, after months of passing on (and chatting from) the other side of the road during our quiet rural walks. The health centre was very full and busy, with an enormous queue snaking round the building, a team of marshals to manage queues, volunteers to welcome, check in and guide, and many consulting rooms where staff were administering vaccinations. People were sort of distanced, but not enough to assuage my anxiety; the exit from the one way system was not wheelchair accessible, so we had to be escorted back through the corridors, with queueing people squeezing to one side. It didn't feel comfortable. However, I was hugely impressed at the scale of the operation, here as in hundreds of other hubs around the country, at the immense level of organisation and co-ordination which is making it all happen at such speed, and at the kindness and friendliness of the staff and volunteers, who prevented it from feeling like a sausage machine. It is an important step towards it feeling safe to bring back my daughter's support team, and allows us to see the possibility of emerging back into a wider world later in the year.

We parked on the seafront, and found the beach and promenade surprisingly busy for a bleak, chilly and damp February morning. Perhaps in other times, many of these people would have been shopping, exercising in the gym or having coffee. We look forward to returning to our seaside walks there later in the year - it's a beautiful place to photograph sunsets.