{"id":50383,"date":"2021-06-04T07:51:47","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T06:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=50383"},"modified":"2021-06-11T12:20:10","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T11:20:10","slug":"mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"standfirst\">As more than 50% of UK adults have had their second dose of the covid-19 vaccination, Mary Higgins reflects on the role of vaccinators<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There have been numerous pieces published in <em>The BMJ<\/em>&#8216;s opinion pages over the last few months, covering the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/01\/08\/human-challenge-trials-of-covid-19-vaccines-still-have-much-to-teach-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">vaccines themselves<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/02\/05\/a-celebration-of-community-collaboration-the-vaccine-makers-give-us-hope\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">logistics of vaccination<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/12\/23\/the-vaccine-has-bought-a-buzz-and-hum-of-hope-from-staff-after-months-of-flat-grey-resignation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">experiences of being vaccinated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (my own <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/01\/22\/the-emotional-journey-of-the-covid-vaccine-recipient\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">euphoric<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> experience included) and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/02\/12\/covid-19-must-be-a-tipping-point-for-tackling-inequalities\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">issues of vaccine inequality<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. I thought it would be a good reflective experience to write about what it is like personally to be a vaccinator. If in a hundred years\u2019 time a student of history is scoping the written history of the pandemic through the virtual pages of <em>The BMJ<\/em>, should this not be included also?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I took part in vaccinator training because of the wish to help out, to play a small but significant part in helping life to return to some sort of normality, to allow lockdown to lift to some degree, to feel as if I had played my part. First step: the training. Vaccinating clinical staff within the Republic of Ireland have to complete mandatory training using a system called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hseland.ie\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHSeLanD\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> where we had to update our knowledge of hand hygiene, infection prevention and control, anaphylaxis education, data protection and covid-19. As a doctor it wasn\u2019t required for me to complete the nurse and midwife module on the covid-19 vaccine, but as with most things in nursing and midwifery education this proved to be useful, practical, and thorough, so I ticked that off the list also.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Virtual paperwork completed, I volunteered to work in our hospital vaccination centre, covering breaks for midwifery and nursing colleagues who are long acting peer vaccinators. Once the inevitable teasing about whether I would be able to give an intramuscular injection was over (apart, obviously, from my friends, where it was relentless) it was time to work. Our centre was based in the Education building, where potential candidates for vaccination queued to register (with administrative staff), to get the vaccine (by midwives and nurses) that were drawn up nearby (by pharmacists, anaesthesiologists and pharmacy technicians) and then have a socially distant rest in a nearby lecture theatre (supervised by the obstetricians). OK, I admit it, this was supposed to be my job, but a) I wanted to be in the action and b) I couldn\u2019t face the inevitable slide by medical staff out of the room before their 15 minutes were over \u2013 \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">but I have a clinic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d (sit down!) \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got a call to..\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (role model good behaviour!) \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">just going to the bathroom\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (are you an adult?).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What was it like to vaccinate? The first thing I noticed was the change on people\u2019s faces when I called them into the room. They had been waiting patiently in a socially distant queue where they could pretend that it was something ordinary, but at the time that the \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">next please<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d was them, you could see their face change with anticipation. Most people had their sleeves rolled up before they even sat in the chair, so eager were they to get the vaccine. Some didn\u2019t listen to the eligibility questions answering \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">yes<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d to \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Have you had a vaccine in the last 14 days?\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or had forgotten how much time had passed since their first dose because, well, its 2021 and time is meaningless. Others mixed up normal side effects (sore arms) with anaphylactic reactions that would have made them ineligible for a second dose. I often had to repeat questions because people weren\u2019t listening and sat there just looking at the vaccine with awe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some people were pregnant and stated that with defiance as if they expected me to say \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sorry, no<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d at the last minute. Some were presenting for the first time for the vaccine and sat with tears in their eyes, talking about family members that they hadn\u2019t seen in months, or travelling to home <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/01\/15\/covid-19-has-added-strain-on-migrant-doctors-unable-to-see-their-families\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">countries<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or counties not seen in the previous year. Some talked about requiring treatments or procedures in the near future where the vaccine would give them greater protection. Some were young healthcare workers, some were old, many of us were frontline and had faced the pandemic together as a team and were now getting vaccinated as a team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giving the vaccine itself is an experience. As the (very fine) needle goes in, for many people there was an involuntary muscular contraction with injection of the vaccine, with nearly everyone staring out the window and into the future. Once finished, each looks down at the empty needle and then up into my eyes. Wearing masks, it seems that our emotions show more in our eyes as we make contact, with their non-verbal communication saying \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">well, that\u2019s a relief<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d. Then off they go into the lecture theatre, to rest, reflect, and hope for the next seven to fourteen days (vaccine type dependent) that they won\u2019t have a significant exposure. And I went on to call the next person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><b>Mary Higgins<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is an obstetrician working in Dublin.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><b>Competing interests<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: None declared.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mairenihuigin?lang=en\"><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@mairenihuigin<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As more than 50% of UK adults have had their second dose of the covid-19 vaccination, Mary Higgins reflects on the role of vaccinators [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":49589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mary-higgins"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As more than 50% of UK adults have had their second dose of the covid-19 vaccination, Mary Higgins reflects on the role of vaccinators [...]More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-04T06:51:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-11T11:20:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/02\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"julietwalker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"julietwalker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"julietwalker\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/373707d32533c2cbca204980b8cd3493\"},\"headline\":\"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-04T06:51:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-11T11:20:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":847,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Mary Higgins\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator - The BMJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-04T06:51:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-11T11:20:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg\",\"width\":540,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"Staff make preparations ahead of the opening of the NHS mass vaccination centre that has been set up in the grounds of Epsom Race Course in Surrey and which is one of seven opening today as the UK government continues to ramp up the vaccination programme against Covid-19.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/04\\\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"description\":\"Helping doctors make better decisions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"width\":852,\"height\":568,\"caption\":\"The BMJ\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bmjdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bmj_latest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/373707d32533c2cbca204980b8cd3493\",\"name\":\"julietwalker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"julietwalker\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/author\\\/julietwalker\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator - The BMJ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator - The BMJ","og_description":"As more than 50% of UK adults have had their second dose of the covid-19 vaccination, Mary Higgins reflects on the role of vaccinators [...]More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/","og_site_name":"The BMJ","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","article_published_time":"2021-06-04T06:51:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-11T11:20:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":540,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/02\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"julietwalker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bmj_latest","twitter_site":"@bmj_latest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"julietwalker","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/"},"author":{"name":"julietwalker","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/373707d32533c2cbca204980b8cd3493"},"headline":"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator","datePublished":"2021-06-04T06:51:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-11T11:20:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/"},"wordCount":847,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/02\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg","articleSection":["Mary Higgins"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/","name":"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator - The BMJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/02\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-04T06:51:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-11T11:20:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/02\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/02\/coronavirus_vaccine_nhs_3_PA-57487461.jpg","width":540,"height":350,"caption":"Staff make preparations ahead of the opening of the NHS mass vaccination centre that has been set up in the grounds of Epsom Race Course in Surrey and which is one of seven opening today as the UK government continues to ramp up the vaccination programme against Covid-19."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/06\/04\/mary-higgins-what-it-is-like-to-be-a-covid-19-vaccinator\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mary Higgins: What it is like to be a covid-19 vaccinator"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","name":"The BMJ","description":"Helping doctors make better decisions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization","name":"The BMJ","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","width":852,"height":568,"caption":"The BMJ"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bmj_latest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/373707d32533c2cbca204980b8cd3493","name":"julietwalker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"julietwalker"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/author\/julietwalker\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}