A ragtag rabble of reprobate retirees, QMU about to close down, 60 a day and Pfizer too.

The end of QMU is in sight.

This is the final week of the drive through service at QMU.

Over the course of the last few weeks the daily numbers have been between 500 and 800 and we have started to vaccinate with Pfizer alongside AstraZenica. Our staff have often been called to other short-staffed centres in the Lothians, including myself spending a shift at the Lowlands Centre at Ingliston.

Over the last few weeks I have hit a personal daily best of 60 vaccines administered in an 8 hour shift and vaccinated a client who stated that they had never had an injection that had not caused them to faint.

This client, on seeing my eyes drift down to their considerable array of arm tattoos were quick to point out the irony themselves and claimed, perhaps rightly, that tattoo needles were very different. However a challenge had now been set. Could I vaccinate this client without them keeling over in a dead faint? Well I would certainly have go.

Their request was for the left arm so they twisted their torso in the car seat to prepare for the injection. However each time I drew near with the needle they leapt away violently. This happened quite a few times. I said I could not attempt to vaccinate them with such violent movements as either of us could be injured in the attempt. At the same time they assured me that they were not disturbed in any way and actually held down a responsible job and were really mostly a fully functioning adult member of society! I wholeheartedly believed them. A new position was attempted.

This time they chose to curl up in a foetal position facing backwards in the drivers seat with their arms held up over their head. By the time they had settled in this position and asked me to go ahead I was able to let them know that it was already over. The client slowly peeked out of their left eye and I reassured them that they had had their vaccine and had not yet fainted. Once they gradually realised that this was actually the case they slowly calmed down, began to breathe normally again were soon able to drive their car to the 15 minute first aid waiting area and subsequently to drive home safely and, importantly, fully conscious.

It has been a fun wee ride out here with my fellow cohort of jabbers. This ragtag rabble of reprobate retirees has come together and bonded really well in our portacabin outposts overlooking Musselburgh. We have jabbed in rain, hail, sleet, gales, haar, clouds, mist and glorious sunshine. The jabbers, the traffic managers, the site managers, admin, cleaning and security staff have all worked well and closely together to try and ensure that vaccine recipients received the best possible service. And for the most part I believe we have largely succeeded.

It has taken until this final week to learn where we might be allocated from next week and I am due to head to the EICC. I have two more shifts at QMU this week and will bid it farewell this Friday 11th June. I don’t know what it will be like at EICC but having undertaken a shift at the Lowlands Hall, Ingliston I guess it will be faster paced, as it is easier to get individuals through vaccination booths than it is to get cars through a drive through set up. The queues at Lowlands were nearly two hours long when I was sent there although the wait had dropped down to under one hour by the time my shift was over. I guess the EICC will be fine once I settle in and begin to understand how it works and find my role and place there but I will be moving from a relatively small area that I currently know well and with colleagues who know me to a very large centre where I will be new member of staff with no local knowledge of systems and procedures. I will miss my colleagues and the intimate daily knowledge of the weather throughout the day available at QMU.

My contract ends in early August but I have tentatively agreed to extend this to the end of October so long as I can grow to enjoy the experience of vaccinating at the EICC at least partially as much as I have enjoyed the experience at QMU.

Keep on reading to find out more.


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