Month: June 2021

Mark Brown spoke to Michael during a pop-up vaccination session in New Cross Gate, London, in May 2021.

MB: This is Mark Brown for Lewisham Vaccination Stories in a very windy and slightly overcast Besson Street Community Gardens in late May, and I’m here with…

MS: Michael Stewart.

MB: So, Michael, you’ve just had your vaccination today. How was it?

MS: I actually had it on Wednesday. I’m glad to have it done. I had to wait 70 minutes in a queue to have it done. So I was a bit surprised to be waiting quite so long. It hurt a little bit, but it was okay.

MB: So, was there anything you were worried about in terms of vaccination?

MS: Only the pain; only my arm and the pain and maybe slightly the side effects afterwards, but I wasn’t really worried about the side effects. So, in terms of the vaccine and vaccine hesitancy, I don’t have any of that. I don’t have any worries at all.

MB: Excellent. You were just like, “Stick it in my arm, I want this year over with.”

So, this has been a year of change, it’s been a year of difficulty for a lot of people. How’s it been for you?

MS: It’s been quite good. I’m more introvert, so actually, being stuck at home on my own has been okay and I’ve found actually not going out, not doing some of the social things I did before, I haven’t actually missed that much.

I’ve been pleased that I’ve made use of the time. I’ve redecorated one room in my flat each lockdown and taken up one or two new hobbies. So, I’ve been happy that I’ve made good use of the time.

MB: Well, let’s hope you don’t live in a mansion, because I’m hoping we’re going to come to the end of these lockdowns soon. So, if we’re successful with this vaccination effort and we do, you know, kick the bum of COVID, what is it you’re hoping for for the future? What is it you’d like to be able to get on with after this time’s over?

MS: I guess the main thing is probably my job. My job is community development, working with community groups, community projects in Lewisham, and working at home has been a bit less motivating because I haven’t been able to actually meet people or see groups in action, and groups haven’t been able to do that much.

So, the main thing is probably for my work, and I think, although I’ve been happy at home, it probably is better really for me longer-term, mental health, to be active and be out and about and be in the world.

MB: Well, fingers crossed we get to that point. Thank you for that.

Jonathan is a volunteer in Lewisham.

A year of working from home has left me feeling fortunate to be employed, but also isolated from the community around me and without a sense of purpose in what many of us have grown to consider a shared responsibility to overcome the pandemic. Somewhat selfishly too, I find myself at a comfortable and happy time of life, but with career morale at a low ebb. The volunteering experience has inspired me through revealing the enthusiasm to make things better that simmers throughout Lewisham, and the real differences we can make just through showing some willing and perhaps a little common sense.

I have learned that there is no typical volunteer. Some have jobs, some don’t. Some are retired. Some are still in school. Some were born around the corner, and some have just arrived. Some are driven by ideology, some want to learn new skills, and others just want to get to know their neighbours. They do all share a real enthusiasm for the challenge, though, and I was at times surprised to see the extent to which the general public shared this enthusiasm.

With the scaremongering of media coverage it is sometimes difficult not to dwell on the negative responses to Covid — those that are reluctant to stay at home, to social distance, to get vaccinated. However, a day at the vaccination centre blows away these concerns. The tide of residents passing through the doors appear from all corners of society. Almost all are smiling, thankful, or at least quietly satisfied to be doing their bit, and grateful we are doing ours.

Mark Brown spoke with Helen during a pop-up vaccination session in New Cross Gate, London, in May 2021.

TRANSCRIPT

MB: This is Mark Brown, for Lewisham Vaccination Stories. I am in the garden of — well, I’m in Besson Street Community Garden, and I’m here with…

H: Helen.

MB: So, Helen, you just had your vaccination. How was it?

H: Really lovely. If you could change the weather, that would have been a little bit better, but apart from that, lovely people. Ease of vaccine fantastic, and a cup of tea and a piece of cake afterwards; what more can you want?

MB: I don’t think there’s anything more you could want from that. So, was there anything that was worrying you beforehand about vaccination?

H: To be honest, no. I listened to the radio for the last year and a half, listened to the vaccines being developed, and the trials that were taking place, and I felt really safe about taking it. And I really want the world to get back to normal, so I want to be part of that process. So, yes.

MB: So, how has the last year been for you?

H: For me personally, it hasn’t been difficult at all. I’ve had one or two wobbly days, when I felt very isolated; I live alone. But more concerned about other people in the world. Particularly my mother, not being able to see her. But grateful for small things, like technology.

Yes, concern that we missed births and deaths, and things like that. But yes, it’s been dreadfully worrying, hasn’t it, across the world? But I’m just so grateful we’re in the place we are now, you know, a year and a half later; that we can just sigh a sigh of relief, and, sort of, get on with it, really, I think.

MB: There’s a lot of hope to what you’re saying there. What is it you’re most hoping for once we come out of this period of COVID and pandemic?

H: Well, there’s things that are not really connected to the pandemic in some ways. You know, like do we need to travel as much as we need to? I’ll probably never go to a concert again as long as I live, just because I don’t really want to be in large groups of people again. I don’t know, maybe that’s because I live alone, and I’ve got quite a, sort of, singular, sort of, isolated life. But yes, I don’t know. Yes.

MB: Do you feel like the vaccine has got the capacity to give us back some things that we’ve been missing for the last year?

H: Absolutely. I really, really do, yes. Yes, just being able to get on a train without fear or worry, or a bus, or stand in a line at the supermarket, and if somebody coughs, you’re not terrified. And yes, yes, I really do. Yes, absolutely. And to see friends and do the things that we used to do before has become — well, we used to take them for granted, and now we can reassess them, and see how important they were and are. Yes, like seeing friends, and hugs, and things like that.

MB: Super important. Thank you for that, Helen.

H: Not at all.

Michelle is a volunteer in Lewisham.

I decided to help with the vaccination process to assist the NHS, who cared for my father during his 10 days over the Christmas period in the Hawthorn Ward at Lewisham Hospital with Covid and pneumonia — but sadly passed away on 30 December 2020.

When I volunteer, obviously I think about my father and hope he’s proud of what I’m doing. I’m also thinking of trying to help the elderly, vulnerable, and those afraid of injections or nervous patients and try to put them at ease.

What has surprised me most is how many volunteers there are and even those that have other duties giving up their spare time to help such a good cause.

I will always remember how many nice, selfless, and helpful people I met that are helping me through a difficult period.

Mark Brown spoke to Liam during a pop-up vaccination session in New Cross Gate, London, in May 2021.

 

TRANSCRIPT

MB: This is Mark Brown for Lewisham Vaccination Stories in an extremely windy Besson Street Community Garden, on an afternoon in late May, and I’m here with…?

LP: Liam Parsons.

MB: Liam, you just had your vaccination. What was it like?

LP: Yes, pretty seamless, and there was no queue when I got here, which is what I was expecting. In and out in 20 minutes, maybe, something like that, so yes, easy.

MB: Was there anything you were worried about in relation to vaccination before you came?

LP: No, to be honest. I have lots of friends and family. People close to me have already got it, so I feel like I had a pretty good gauge of what to expect. Now, it is just wait and see the next 24 hours, I guess, if I feel a bit flu-ish but should be fine.

MB: I wanted to ask you, it is has been a period of upheaval in the world because of the pandemic. How has the last year been for you?

LP: Yes, I can’t lie. It has been a pretty smooth ride for me, if I’m being totally honest. I’ve been quite privileged to be able to be put on furlough but come back to a job and be able to work from home, and yes, just be comfortable for the most part, in our 2-bed flat, my girlfriend and I, which again, I don’t know. That is all I can say, from my perspective we’ve been pretty privileged to not have too many, yes, impacts on our lives, other than the standard stuff for everyone, so…

MB: What are you looking forward to in terms of, what are you hoping for, for the world and yourself, once we get back to some sort of normal after this vaccination effort is successful?

LP: I think it is the same story as a lot of other people. I’m Canadian, so I’m hoping to get back, yes, back across the Atlantic, back to travel, at least just to get back to family.

The key holiday season is coming up, whether it is summer or maybe Christmas is a bit more realistic. But other than that, just enjoying London — because I’ve been here for a little over two years and a whole year of it has been COVID. I’m just looking forward to a London summer.

MB: Brilliant. Thank you.

Sara is a volunteer in Lewisham.

I wanted to do something, anything to help. 10 months of feeling truly helpless, I wanted to give something back.

It’s been a sobering and humbling experience but it has been so rewarding and fulfilling, I’ve loved every second of it. I have met some incredible people, the PCNs, clinical leads, nurses, vaccinators, and volunteers are all incredible, and I hope I can call some of them friends now. It was so energising for an extrovert like me who lives alone to be able to meet new people and talk to them.

I was happily surprised that so many people wanted to be vaccinated and after all of the press around AstraZeneca, people still showed up to be vaccinated. I have been blown away by the PCNs who have stepped up and trained to be vaccinators, some very young and yet so calm and professional it blows my socks off.

I won’t forget working with a local GP who recognises his patients and knows them by name. I will remember the people, how grateful and kind the large majority of them were. Thanking us for our time, not realising what it means to us to be able to help.

Long live the NHS and the generous spirit of the British people.

Mark Brown spoke to Jill during a pop-up vaccination session in New Cross Gate, London, in May 2021.

TRANSCRIPT

MB: This is Mark Brown for Lewisham Vaccination Stories. I am here in Besson Street Community Garden, on a windy day in late May, and I’m here with…?

JM: Jill Mountford.

MB: Jill, you’ve had your first vaccination. What was it like?

JM: I didn’t know. When I went in to have my vaccination, I spoke to two lovely trainee doctors they were, and I said that I was a little bit nervous and I was going to sing so that I couldn’t hear the needle going in. They laughed and said, “Does it make a sound then?” I said, “Oh, I’m sure it does. Yes, I’m sure it does.” They said, “Well, you’ve already been vaccined,” and that is how simple it was.

It was a very positive and good experience. I had AZ and the next day I had some mild symptoms, and I know they were mild symptoms of COVID because exactly a year previously on the 16th March, I started with COVID and was ill in bed for two weeks, and got my vaccination on the anniversary of my becoming sick, so I knew it was symptoms.

MB: Before you had your vaccination, was there anything that was worrying you?

JM: No, not remotely; not about the vaccine, anyway, about the state of the world, for sure, but not about the vaccine, no.

MB: How has the last year been for you?

JM: I hate talking about how the last year has been for me personally, because the last year has been wretched for everybody, with very few exceptions, I would imagine. However, I think everybody should be given the space to talk about just how dreadful it has been on a personal level.
There is always somebody worse off, absolutely, but everyone has got a right to recognise and to be recognised that they’ve had a hard year, and I’m no different from anybody else. It has been a wretched year.

MB: It has not been great, but hopefully with this vaccination programme we are coming to the end of that. What I wanted to ask you is, what are you looking forward to for the future, once we all get this COVID thing licked?

JM: Well, I’m a revolutionary socialist, so I’m looking forward to a different kind of world than we’ve got now.

MB: Excellent. Thank you.

JM: Sorry, but there is no bullshit answer what I’m looking forward to, okay?

I volunteered to help the vaccination effort because I feel that we should all do what we can to help get the country safe again. At the start of the year work was slow so I had a bit more time on my hands and I wanted to use it to bring value to the community.

My first shift was at St Johns and we were vaccinating people in their 70s and 80s. It felt a bit overwhelming seeing so many people in a day as I hadn’t seen much more than my wife and daughter for a month or two. I have worked on the doors of the vaccination centres, so I see the people arrive often looking a little nervous. I have been the first person they see so I made sure I greeted them and directed them through to the next step of their journey through the vaccination centre. Seeing them come out smiling and relaxed has been the most valuable experience.

As someone who suffers from social anxiety it took a lot to put myself out there, but I am very glad I did. As work has picked up I haven’t had the time to volunteer more, but my actions prompted my wife to train as a vaccinator so as a household we have been doing our bit.

Mark Brown spoke with Mr. Odu during a pop-up vaccination session in New Cross Gate, London, in May 2021.

 

TRANSCRIPT

MB: Hello, this is Mark Brown for Lewisham Vaccination Stories, in a very windy Besson Street Community Gardens in late May, and I’m here with…?

MO: Mr. Odu.

MB: You just had your vaccination. What was it like?

MO: It was absolutely perfect and the organisers here, I think, were quite decent, well organised. It took only a few seconds, should I say a few minutes? But overall it was fantastic.

MB: Brilliant. Was there anything worrying you about vaccination before you came?

MO: Well, to be honest with you, I have been relatively ambivalent about it. I’ve never had COVID. I’ve had 3, 4, 5 tests for COVID, since the inception of COVID, and somebody called me up, to be honest with you. I think it was — no, somebody gave me a flyer and I called the number and introduced myself. They said, “Oh, you can come in, walk in, or make an appointment.” I said, “I already made an appointment,” and that is how I got here.

MB: Excellent. How has the last year been for you during this big upheaval of COVID and pandemic?

MO: I wouldn’t want to say it is anything short of a nightmare. In my humble opinion I think COVID has altered the course of our trajectory of our lives, and I have to thank the people of this fantastic country.

At the beginning — I was here at the beginning. We were all confused and worried, but it is amazing that God has been able to make it possible for us to find our way, achieve the vaccines, organise everything quite nicely. Overall, I have to say it is not as bad as it should have been or could have been.

MB: Yes. Once this whole vaccination effort is out of the way and everyone is vaccinated, what are you looking forward to happening?

MO: Oh, God, you know, my normal life, I’d hope. I don’t expect any miracles but to consider my normal life.

MB: Thank you.