Picture Story: The Vaccination Of A Nation

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

Sports hall to medical facility

Getting down to business

Done and dusted

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