Now I have had my second Covid vaccine, for which I am extremely grateful.
I was booked at an Alberta health location in the north of Edmonton in a large space built for retail. We were scheduled in cohorts for every 10 minutes with clear instructions not to come early! After a couple of identity and health card checks I was directed to one of the tables to get my shot. Everyone was very friendly and we were all on our best behavior. So novel to be among such a vast crowd.
After my shot I was told to go to an area with chairs and wait for 15 minutes before I left to make sure I had no strange reactions. It was a warm day and my eyes gently closed and as I sat there I became aware of the sound: a wonderful bubbling of human voices, all blended together, rising and falling in waves, no words to distinguish, just this wonderful sound of 200 human beings together, cooperating and happy to help or be helped. Just how delightful to let this sound float over me in waves of human warmth.