30 Masjids 🟩

When my brother Amir spotted this Mobile Vaccination Clinic to be held at ISNA’s Islamic Centre of Canada, he signed us up both for today, Sunday Jaunary 30 2022.

I previously wrote about getting my first COVID-19 mRNA shot at ICCO, Islamic Community Centre of Ontario, over on my City of Labyrinths blog :

“First Dose – Mobile Vaccination Clinic – MAC ICCO – Muslim Association of Canada – Islamic Community Centre of Ontario – 2550 Dunwin Drive, Mississauga”

My brother and I were already double-dosed fully vaccinated last year.

This Sunday Morning we’d be getting our third shot Boosters.

We were able to book appointments for 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

Arriving at a quarter to eleven this morning, we found a nearly empty front parking lot at ISNA.

Parking opposite the primary entrance to ISNA High School is unusual for us.

Mostly when visiting the Islamic Centre of Canada, we have to hunt for a parking spot in the much larger south parking lot.

I was early, as were about a dozen other Muslims.

Being the first cohort, for lack of a better term, of the day, meant today’s Mobile Vaccination Clinic wasn’t immediately ready at 11:00 a.m. on the dot.

No one in line seemed to mind as we all stood six feet apart from each other for an additional 20 minutes.

Almost didn’t feel the time pass at all, despite looking at my watch every so often.

It afforded me the ability to privately recite short Islamic prayers, Dhikr, while inside of a Masjid Proper. Something of a rare privilege during the numerous lockdowns since early 2020.

So lesson learned is, whenever you have the chance to make Dhikr inside a masjid, be quick and get to it!

The Vaccination Clinic was set up inside the ISNA High School Gym.

The Gym was divided into two sections by unfolding the giant dividing sliding wall panels.

A section each for men and women.

The separate women’s section allowed privacy for Muslim Women when getting their Shots in the upper arms.

The men’s section had a total of four people waiting for shots.

I didn’t have to wait long at all.

Unlike the feeling I physically experienced when I got my first COVID-19 jab in the arm last year, this time I almost felt nothing.

The Doctor administering my shot asked me IF I got the photograph I wanted as he jabbed me ?

I couldn’t even tell that the needle was in my arm.

Afterwards I would wonder if a different needle technology was used so it was painless ?

I asked the Doctor how long I should keep the band-aid covering the spot where I was jabbed.

The band-aid was mostly unnecessary he informed me. It was applied as precaution to alleviate any rare instance of a drop or two of blood appearing around the jab location.

Well, no reason to keep mine on then, and the Doctor removed my band-aid.

After getting each of the first vaccine two doses, we had to stick around for 15 minutes.

For boosters, we only had to wait for five minutes.

If driving, they asked people to still wait for the full 15 minutes.

By now my brother had also had his booster jab all done.

We waited in a mostly empty half-gymnasium.

Masjids can easily be described as Empty Rooms with Carpets.

This Sunday morning’s Mobile Vaccination Clinic inside ISNA was an Empty Gym with Chairs.

There was something so Boringly Routine about today.

Everybody was going through the motions…

The Volunteers, The Medical Staff, ISNA’s Vaccination Volunteers, and we, the Waiting-to-be Third time Jabbed.

Ramadan comes around once every Lunar year.

We don’t yet know if Muslims visiting Mobile Vaccination & Booster Clinics at Masjids is now also annually necessary.

Allah-hu-Alam.

And Allah, Glorified and Praised be He, knows best.