Words by

John Pearson

@johnpearson@grapevine.is

Photo by

John Pearson

Iceland’s COVID-19 vaccination program recently hit top gear.

Laugardalshöll—a huge sports hall in Reykjavík—has been turned into a mass vaccination centre capable of serving some ten thousand local residents every day. The court which is usually the home of the national handball, basketball and volleyball teams is currently covered by a grid of chairs—20 wide by 26 rows deep—to receive the patients passing through.

Smooth logistics are key to the success of this kind of operation. Responsibility for that rests with Head Of Nursing Anna Ólafsdóttir, and we recently spent time with Anna and her team as they inoculated wave after wave of Reykjavík residents.

If you’ve been vaccinated at Laugardalshöll, you’ll probably have heard Anna. She’s the one who yells “Áfram!” (“Forward!”) to signal that her squad of twenty nurses should advance together to the next row of waiting patients. So Anna’s part nurse, part drill-sergeant (in the nicest possible way).

Anna Ólafsdóttir – photo by John Pearson

It’s all in the preparation

Pfizer’s finest is drawn into a syringe – photo by John Pearson

They’ll get through some 10,000 doses today – photo by John Pearson

Syringes loaded, labelled and ready for action – photo by John Pearson

Sports hall to medical facility

Precision chair-arranging in Laugardalshöll – photo by John Pearson

Reykjavík folk roll in and roll out – photo by John Pearson

Getting down to business

Walk in, sit down, roll sleeve – photo by John Pearson

Anna’s friendly chairside manner – photo by John Pearson

Quick jab, and done – photo by John Pearson

Some people smile with their eyes – photo by John Pearson

It’s over before you notice it – photo by John Pearson

Done and dusted

Late afternoon: crowds gone, job done – photo by John Pearson

Each empty syringe is another step forward – photo by John Pearson

End-of-shift Anna – photo by John Pearson

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