Boston Healthcare Workers Celebrate Arrival Of COVID Vaccine
These Boston healthcare workers are all of us as they dance to Lizzo’s “Good as Hell” in this now-viral video
These last nine or ten months have been just one, long, dark tunnel of doom in relation to the pandemic — until now. The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine is giving us the teeniest sliver of light and confirmation that help is on the way, and that alone is absolutely worth celebrating. There is an undeniably long road ahead, and the pandemic will continue to rage and devastate lives and families for an indeterminable amount of time. But we have to embrace our joys when they come — and these Boston healthcare workers are here to show us how that’s done.
Staff members at Boston Medical Center took to the sidewalk outside the hospital (while wearing masks, face shields, and PPE) to celebrate the delivery of the vaccine in the absolute best way: by dancing to Lizzo’s “Good as Hell.”
A clip of the staff dancing was shared on Twitter by BMC president Kate Walsh from the center’s new TikTok account.
“Why I love my job at the BMC!” Walsh wrote. “Teams of people working to safely and equitably distribute vaccines to their front line colleagues getting cheered on by their friends celebrating the arrival of the vaccines! A great day, a great place.”
The relief, the happiness, and the hope is palpable in this video. Healthcare workers are the true heroes of this godforsaken year — they’ve been putting their lives at risk to save others since the very beginning of the pandemic, they’re overworked, exhausted, traumatized, mentally and emotionally drained, and many have worked through shortages of PPE and staff members all year. They don’t need us to cheer for them at shift-change — they needed a vaccine.
They have earned this moment more than anyone has ever earned anything. They deserve this joy. There is finally hope that this devastating period in history will eventually come to an end, and if that’s not worth a little dance, well, what is?
People on Twitter — including fellow healthcare workers — shared their excitement over the video, which quickly went viral.
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According to Boston.com, Boston Medical Center received 1,950 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Monday, and staff members will start receiving shots on Wednesday. One thousand employees are set to get the shot by the end of the week. Healthcare workers across the country are being prioritized as recipients for the vaccine, and tens of thousands are supposed to receive them before Christmas.
Yesterday, Long Island critical care nurse Sandra Lindsay received one of the first vaccines given in the U.S. over a live-stream event with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo watching. “I feel hopeful today. Relieved,” Lindsay said after receiving the vaccine.
I don’t know about all of you, but this video and the vaccine news has me feeling “Good as Hell.”
