‘It feels like a dream came true,’ says
Nisha Yunus, who received the shot Tuesday afternoon It was a nine-month wait for a moment that unfolded in seconds.
With a swab of an arm and the prick of a needle, a health-care worker on Tuesday became the first person in British Columbia to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, kicking off the provincial leg of a nationwide vaccination campaign that promises an end to the pandemic.
Nisha Yunus, a 64-year-old (Fiji Muslim)residential care aide, received the shot shortly after 1 p.m. PT at an undisclosed vaccination site in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. Before receiving the shot, Yunus was met with applause by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Dr. Ross Brown, who is leading the province’s vaccine rollout.
A nurse swabbed the worker’s arm and asked her to take a deep breath.
Seconds later, the needle went in. The nurse then applied a bandage and applause broke out. Henry gave Yunus an elbow bump as cameras fired. Yunus has worked for 41 years as a residential care aide at Vancouver’s Providence Health.
For that entire period, she has worked on the same unit and floor.
She initially agreed to an interview on-site, but later changed her mind and declined. In a statement issued later Tuesday, Yunus said it was an honour and privilege to receive the province’s first vaccine. “I am so grateful. It feels like a dream came true,” she said. ”I have seen first-hand what COVID-19 does to families, and I am hopeful we are getting closer to finally reaching the end of this pandemic, so people can reunite safely with their loved ones and put this behind us.”
Henry described B.C.’s first vaccination as monumental. “It brings a spark of light and joy,” she said. “It’s so exciting to know that we’re starting to make difference and turning the tide on this pandemic.
Source: cbc-ca.
