OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.
Someone who loves me very much encouraged me to go to the CTICC and get my Covid-19 vaccine as a walk-in. I have become quite weepy lately, but I think I would have had tears of joy and relief in my eyes today one way or another. The sense of taking the first step towards safety – away from suffering and potentially dying because of Covid-19 – was so empowering and overwhelming, I still feel the excitement of it all. And: I. HATE. NEEDLES. (The nurse administering my vaccine was very understanding and made sure that I did not see the needle at any stage.)
The Vaccination Centre of Hope at the CTICC is extremely well organised, and fair. Older age groups and people with appointments are prioritised, as it should be, but the long queue of young walk-ins kept moving along nicely, too. I arrived at 10.20AM and was free to go home at 12.20PM. Best queue EVER (and I grew up in Communist Poland, so I have quite a lot of experience).
And somehow it felt right to experience the magic of the vaccine at the CTICC, a place where many happy literary memories had been made during book fairs of the past, and more recently, where many lives had been saved when the Convention Centre became a hospital. Now, it is a Vaccination Centre of Hope and that is exactly how it feels.
That moment of the needle going into my arm was one of the happiest of my life.
Thank you City of Cape Town, Discovery and all the amazing, friendly and efficient staff of the Vaccination Centre of Hope.
Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.
“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”
— NICD
Karina Magdalena 