History is happening in these vaccination clinics. I thought about what it would be like to look back on this in the future, either as myself or as someone learning about the COVID-19 pandemic, and realized photos might be a little flat as far as primary resources go. Some environmental audio might help to add some texture to the scene, so to speak.

So, I recorded this audio during my trip through the clinic today as I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. It captures almost the entire process - I cut the check-in procedure and a personal conversation I had with a friend during the waiting period after receiving the shot as both had some identifying information of other people. Otherwise, this is the raw audio (muffled as it is) of my trip through the clinic.

Listening to it while looking at the wide view of the clinic, above, is really interesting to me. I think, together, they do a decent job of conveying the scene of these clinics. They’re organized and efficient. People are helpful. It’s a process. An assembly line. Getting the shot takes no time at all (you don’t even realize the exact time I received the shot in the audio, other than the nurse telling me “you’re all set.”). Organizers wonder about how they’re doing (“How was everything?”). All of this against a backdrop of casual conversation in several groups of people as they wait in line beforehand and in the holding area afterward.

And, as I exit the clinic, someone entering the clinic tells her friends she was nervous about getting the vaccine, but that “Dave said it beats COVID, so....”

Yep, it captures the scene…and the moment we’re in, quite well, I think.