Andy Munro gets on a trek to get jabbed.
Last week, I had a missed call which transpired to originate from a Health Centre in Springfield on the edge of the Balti Triangle. When I phoned back I was told they had fixed an appointment on the Sunday for my COVID jab. It’s a long way from Hollywood but maybe I was eligible because of the amount of baltis I’ve consumed in the area over the years.
However, on the Sunday, I looked out at our snowbound cul de sac and my equally snowbound car and decided to give it a go using an old fashioned combo of bus and shanks’ pony. Suitably attired and booted, I walked to the Maypole from Hollywood to 
At that stage, could have tried to wait for a number 1 but bearing in mind its lack of reliability even in normal conditions, I strode down Wake Green Road and made it to Springfield twenty minutes before my 12.30pm appointment. Predictably, with such bad weather, a lot of people had cancelled or not shown up so I was seen straight away. Slightly worryingly, nobody bothered to take my temperature
After a few questions I was given the vaccine jab and in fairness it didn’t hurt at all despite the size of the needle although the doctor, seeing my Blues face mask, said he felt that I must have had enough pain already. Apparently with the Oxford jab you don’t have to wait for fifteen minutes for any adverse reaction (which you apparently do with the alternative vaccine available) and can leave straight away so I was soon heading for Kings Heath on foot to get a number 50, which according to the bus travel site had restarted.
For the benefit of COVID deniers, I was able to walk the couple of miles or so without falling in a heap or speaking to people in biblical tongues. I’m glad I had it and made an effort that probably in total meant a walk of five miles. Reaction so far has been aching limbs which is apparently a common side effect but as the saying goes, there’s no gain without pain.