Only 15 seconds, and sometimes less, separated the vaccinated from the other, and here it was our turn • Dad came in, identification, registration, shot, a quarter of an hour of waiting, and brother, what a relief • The pace is dizzying, the efficiency is impressive and the nightmare is coming to an end
Give a shoulder:
They came in pairs and singles, in wheelchairs or with walkers.
Here an elderly woman leans on her granddaughter, here someone is supported with a cane.
There were 60-year-olds who helped their 80-year-old parents, foreign workers who pushed their patients, a woman who helped her husband and vice versa.
And they were of all species and of all kinds.
Haredim, secular, Arabs and Jews, Ashkenazis and Sephardim, and in short - all the people of Israel.
Operation "Give Shoulder" launched: Medical teams in hospitals begin to be vaccinated // Photo: Yoni Rickner
When she was summoned, they entered the back of the arena in Jerusalem, some to Maccabi and some to Clalit.
Despite the importance of the moment, and perhaps contrary to expectation, there was no mess, no urgency and no arguments.
Young stewardesses, sometimes unaware of the hearing difficulties of the older generation, received and instructed them on the necessary steps.
The order was exemplary and the speed surprising.
Only 15 seconds, and sometimes less, separated a vaccinated person from another, and here it was our turn.
Dad came in.
Identification, registration, injection, a quarter of an hour of waiting, and brother, what a relief.
The pace is dizzying, the efficiency is impressive and the nightmare is coming to an end.
After a crazy year, sane life suddenly seemed like something that might come back soon.
No more closures and restrictions, distances and masks, no more contradictory instructions and confused decrees.
No more parents imprisoned in their homes, keeping their distance from their loved ones, fearing for their lives.
No more disrupting basic arrangements, but an achievable routine.
Of course, one should wait for the second dose, follow the instructions to the end and pray that there will be no mutations and other surprises.
But the main thing, the vaccines here, are given to those who need them first, and not to the strong.
These were moments of beautiful Israel.
Despite the flaws and weaknesses, the problems and the troubles - and even despite the terrible traffic jam on the way home - thousands in this country stretch for a whole year to bring healing to Israel.
As someone who closely reviews decision-making, I know how hard so many people, so many hours, worked to get to this moment.
From the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and senior members of the system to the medical staff and the infamous officials - they all gave their all to the end.
Of course, there have been glitches, and there are still, and yet, here we come to the savior vaccine.
"I appreciate Bibi and the people who preferred us, the old, over the young," my good father tells me when we left, "after all, they are the ones who paid the heavy price for this year - not us."
Definitely a way to see things too.
A Jerusalem sunset painted the arena orange.
In the days when they are being repaired, shots here in the hall are aimed at the baskets, not at the shoulders.
A little more and they too will return to action.