Getting the Pfizer vaccination as an office

I know enough people, much smarter than I am, who understand the basics of vaccinations to know the process is safe. Especially with a global front all working towards the same goal.

So there we were, at the tail end of 2021, six lockdowns in and I still had not received my first dose of vaccination.

It was just earlier that week, during a work meeting, we'd discussed doing our part to help get vaccinations numbers up. Which meant more stories, and more information; doing what we can as journalists at a regional publication level to get everyone vaccinated. Even if the rollout was tedious.

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My family is in Melbourne, it's not a big family, but it's mine and they've all had they're vaccinations because, in different ways, they are high risk groups.

Yes, we're safer in the regional areas but getting a higher vaccination rate doesn't just mean seeing my family, but my family being safer where they are.

I was following up on a story about a pop-up vaccination clinic at Horsham Neighbourhood House. I had met the organisers from Grampians Community Health, Wimmera Health Care Group and the house the week before.

All of them were smart, kind and warm people. People you trust and feel safe with. I was more than happy to follow up on this story and shoot some photos for another story.

When I arrived, it was quiet. Four people had been vaccinated to far.

Which is still four more than the day before but not the response they had wanted.

I was (what I thought) jokingly asked if I wanted to get vaccinated.

I felt instant, cold nerves in my gut. A millions reasons why not ran through my mind.

But I was surrounded by kind, caring and well-informed people, reminding me, it was my choice.

I decided that, despite in the middle of a work day, I would roll up my sleeve and get the jab.

If work got mad, it didn't matter, I was on my way to being fully vaccinated. Doing my bit, walking the walk.

I felt safe. I felt supported. I could do this.

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The manager of Horsham Neighbourhood House, Charlie Helyar and Grampians Community Health Mia Fraser were by my side the whole time.

As for work, my acting editor was so excited I had stumbled my way into a Pfizer vaccination. My immediate message back was essentially to tell everybody and that she and a Stawell journalist were on the way to get their vaccination done that day as well.

I shared the information out to my work, to Twitter and the Wimmera Mail-Times Facebook.

"Let's get this done"; that was our priority. So, we did just that. Got it done, as many as possible who wanted to get their shot.

There was six of us in total from the office.

The rest of the day saw a lot of giggles at work.

We feasted on cake and Powerade, and little work got done that day.

We did manage to get a group shot of most of us who went and got our first Pfizer shot that day. It will go down in history as the day our smart-as-a-whip acting editor went from telling us to stagger getting our vaccination doses to encouraging us all to get our jab done that day.

Thankfully, our second doses are all staggered. Which is meant to be the one that knocks you about a bit.

I was so thankful that day. For the support from Horsham Neighborhood House, my workmates and the COVID-19 vaccination.

Sometimes, you put yourself in the hands of people who are much cleverer and braver than you, and it pays off.

I rolled up my sleeve, took a selfie and got my jab.

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