They might not be the first people you think of when picturing heroes during this pandemic, but the people working at the Linamar (Skyjack) vaccination clinic are doing their best to help the community get vaccinated.
Clinic volunteers are using their time to check people in, direct lines of traffic through different stations, run vaccines to the nurses, clean multiple surfaces and more.
"I'm happy volunteering there and everyone else is too," said Kent Fletcher, a volunteer who has been working at the clinic since March, "It's a great little crew.
"I have yet to find a volunteer who has come for the wrong reasons here, they are all very keen to work."
The clinic rotates volunteers in three shifts throughout the day. Each shift is three hours long with some volunteers taking on double or triple shifts. Next week, the clinic will be opening an hour earlier to help distribute 1,000 vaccines. More information on clinic hours can be found here.
"Well fortunately, we've had a lot of great support," said John Pham, clinic project lead at the clinic, "A lot of great people have come together to make this happen."
Since opening in mid-March, Pham said they have around 800 volunteers on roster through the People Information Network, but not all of them have had a shift yet at the clinic.
"We're trying to pepper in and sprinkle in the new volunteers so that there's a pretty good mixture of people who already have the experience versus the new volunteers," said Pham.
Fletcher said it feels good to help the new volunteers, especially as they go on to help the next new volunteers.
"I've been waiting for an opportunity where I could help out somewhere and there really wasn't anything," he said, "I kept looking online, but normal volunteer and charity organizations had shutdown and when this popped up I thought, finally I can give back to the community."
Pham explains volunteers play a non-clinical role within the clinic. Vaccinations are performed by nurses who work with Apex Health, the clinic's health partner.
"Together, we're able to make this clinic functional," said Pham.
Judy Baker-Campbell volunteers a couple times a week while she is working from home. For her, it has meant a lot to be able to contribute her time.
"I don't really know what I anticipated, the first time I came in I felt so nervous to be interacting with the public because I work from home," said Baker-Campbell, "But right away, I felt so comforted with all the precautions that are taken .... coming through the door, wearing the mask, sanitizing and all this PPE gear."
Fletcher said he has been impressed by the efficiency of volunteers at the clinic, despite the media portrayal of clinics with long lines. While volunteering, he recalls no slip-ups happening at the clinic.
"I was pleasantly surprised at how well-organized this clinic's been since day one," he said, "And it's just been improving and improving ... every little suggestion we make gets put in place within a week."
Baker-Campbell has also been impressed with how smoothly the clinic has been operating. She cites Pham as being one of the reasons why.
"He's the perfect guy for the job, well I guess I can say that about all of them," she said. "That's what creates the environment."
Pham explains the clinic has experimented with different methods of administering vaccines and shares all clinic content with other clinics across the province.
"We've been sharing this throughout Ontario so that other people can utilize our resources to set up their own clinics," he said. "Pretty much anything we needed to set up this clinic we've freely shared. We're just trying to help the people here."
When it comes to interacting with the people who come into the clinic, Fletcher said they have been pretty happy and respectful.
"So many people are so happy to be here, to finally get the chance to get vaccinated and beat this thing," he said.
Baker-Campbell explains interacting with other members of the community has also been a touching and emotional experience.
"Almost every shift I find myself in tears listening to stories about the isolation people have been experiencing," said Baker-Campbell. "The separation of family and friends, and even just the nerves of going in to get the vaccine, it's a big decision for everyone and relied.
"To be part of that moment to be experiencing that sense of relief, it's an amazing gift to be a part of that."
