Today I got my first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine or Covishield that has arrived in the UAE under the Indian govt's vaccine diplomacy. It is another matter that India needs to dispose its vaccine stockpile before their six-month expiry date.
Coming under one of the priority groups (right now, owing to a shortage, the vaccine is administered to citizens, residents with chronic diseases, people of determination and frontline workers), we were able to register ourselves over a week ago and luckily got an early date. We had dilly dallied until now about receiving one of the four vaccines on offer in the country - with all emirates offering the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm and Dubai also offering Pfizer and Oxford for its residents - but when a friend prompted us to apply just as they did, we decided it was time to take the plunge. The constant tension of worrying if we had Covid or not was too much.
So was the dilemma if we were doing the right thing and if we should opt for an alternative vaccine or if one of us should wait and watch especially with two wards to take care. We worried if it would give us fever and severe body pain. The tension building up on the D-day probably explained the higher BP in both of us in the nurse's room.
Our appointment was at One Central, an upmarket business cum residential area in Downtown Dubai flanked by the WTC and the upcoming Museum of the Future. There is free parking and helpful signboards guiding you to Offices 5 where the centre is. Right until the vaccine room, there are helpful attendants guiding you to your destination.
In the ground floor, we were led to one of the many tables where the registration process is done - the Emirates ID and the information already fed while booking the appointment on the DHA app is enough to identify and collect one's digital signature. The lift took us seven floors above to a waiting room with socially distanced chairs. Attendants called out our allotted numbers, which also appeared on the screen in front. While the husband was guided elsewhere, I went to a curtained cabin where I was greeted by a compatriot nurse. We chatted in Malayalam, and she told me there was nothing to worry and the side effects only mean the vaccine is working and the antibodies were getting active. One look at the long needle and I tensed up. She asked me to relax and I hardly felt any pain as she injected the medicine.
We waited a good 10 minutes in the Observation Room outside before departing.
The centre handles 3k to 4k people a day. Hats off to an administration that treats each patient like a VIP or a hotel guest. Bottles of mineral water are kept for free distribution. Washrooms and toilet seats are sanitised after each user.
It is indeed a privilege and blessing to be able to receive the Covid jab in the UAE, which ensures top-class facilities for both citizens and residents alike. Contrast it with jostling for space in a crowded government hospital in my home country, putting up with grumpy nurses and smart fellow citizens trying to jump the queue.
So far, I have not experienced any of the anticipated side effects. Touchwood!
#CovidVaccine #Covishield
