Vicky Walker met with fellow volunteer Gavin Cambridge in October 2021 at the Downham Vaccination Hub.
Month: November 2021
Damian — “Lewisham has moved heaven and earth to get everyone it possibly can vaccinated.”
Vicky Walker spoke with Damian Brady in September 2021 at the Downham Vaccination Hub.
TRANSCRIPT
Vicky Walker: Hi, this is Vicky Walker with Lewisham Vaccination Stories, and it is a cool September afternoon, and I am here at the Downham Vaccination Hub with the King of the Hub, Damian Brady.
So, Damian, how the hell do you set up a vaccination hub from scratch?
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Photo illustration by Polly Coppa Boreham
Chrissy — “I’ve been part of making a difference to keep people safe”
Mark Brown spoke with Christina Norman on an outreach day at Lewisham College on 13 October 2021.
Roy — “Getting vaccinated is a good, social, conscientious, helpful thing to do.”
Vicky Walker spoke with volunteer Roy at Downham Vaccination Hub in October 2021.
Continue reading Roy — “Getting vaccinated is a good, social, conscientious, helpful thing to do.”
Sam’s story: “I feel like I met a new group of friends”
Sam is a volunteer at the Downham vaccination hub.
I decided to volunteer at the centre where I had my vaccine done, Downham. I was very scared and not sure about this new vaccine but everyone there was so helpful and made me feel at ease.
Volunteering makes me feel like I can help out someone as much as I was helped on the day, and make their experience better — and maybe have a laugh, too. Everyone is lovely at the centre, and I feel like I met a new group of friends where we have the same ideas and principles when it comes to Covid.
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Photo illustration by Polly Coppa Boreham
Rachel’s story: “Little did I realise quite how inspiring and exhilarating this would be”
Rachel is a volunteer at Downham, Lewisham Hospital, St. Johns, and the Waldron.
I had so much annual leave to take, and in January 2021 we weren’t supposed to travel or leave our locality unnecessarily. When the opportunity came up to volunteer at the vaccination centres I jumped at it. Little did I realise at the time quite how inspiring and exhilarating this would be, and how quickly reliable teams can be built.
My first shift was particularly memorable after almost 10 months of seeing very few people, to be surrounded by so many — and also to have to overcome the new inhibition of keeping a distance from the over-80s whom I was trying to help out of cars just showed what an impact the pandemic and the lockdown measures had. It was a proper wartime spirit.
Since then it has been great to meet other volunteers and health care professionals but also to learn more about Lewisham borough, its residents, different generations and cultures, attitudes, and apprehension towards vaccinations.