Indispensable immunizer

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This article was published 19/07/2021 (1602 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

She’s a self-styled “roller derby nurse” who has administered more than 10,000 jabs to Manitobans.

Corinne Norris works at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic in downtown Winnipeg; she uses a wheeled-rig immunizer that glides across the floor, hence the nickname.

After more than 700 hours, Norris says she still gets a kick out of the pleasant surprise on her clients’ faces as she sneaks up from behind, ready to take their consent form, with a disinfecting wipe close at hand.

Anyone who has been vaccinated at a super site is familiar with the speed and stealth of immunizers as they push their rolling chair and cart of syringes from client to client, delivering up to 20 shots in 20 minutes or less.

“It’s service with a smile — under my mask — but they can see it in my eyes,” Norris says in the backyard of her St. Vital home. “I have fun with everyone.”

The registered nurse has been a fixture at the province’s largest vaccination site from the very early days of the campaign when fewer than 2,000 people were being immunized each day.

Norris officially retired in August 2020 after a 37-year career as a palliative and home care nurse. However, she says there was no question in her mind that she would return to work to help bring the once in a century pandemic to an end.

Not even a month after retiring, she was back in schools delivering vaccinations to children — a position she’s taken on casually for the past two decades — with the intent to later offer her skills to the influenza vaccination campaign and the eventual COVID-19 vaccine campaign. Her first shift delivering COVID-19 vaccines was Jan. 4.

“That’s why I’m out there,” Norris says. “If they need another nurse today, I’m out there.”

Norris has since taken on a mentorship role at the clinic, given her decades of experience, orienting new immunizers to the high-paced environment and instructing students on how to quickly and painlessly deliver a needle.

“Even though you’re getting up early and doing 10,000 steps a day, it is not work,” Norris says. “I feel great at the end of the shift because I got all the students coming to me, thanking me, and I feel so good when I leave there.”

The days are not monotonous either, Norris says, adding she sometimes fills syringes, floats as an observer, and on occasion may be called to help with informed consent.

However, she says clinic managers prefer to keep her on the floor, where she can immunize one person every 30 to 45 seconds, and deliver shots to 20 people in under 14 minutes.

The 59-year-old, a frequent runner who competed at the Boston Marathon and boasts a personal best of an eight and a half minute mile, said the speedy delivery method was no trouble for her, and like anything, can be achieved with practise.

But in those short-lived interactions with people getting their vaccine, Norris says she also makes a point to connect with them on a personal level, and share an experience that can be moving for many.

The first week the clinic was open to the public and senior citizens started arriving with their children and family members, Norris says she was misty eyed as she delivered jabs.

“I’m emotional — I’m Italian and I’m Pisces — I’ve got it all,” she says. “So I’ll get tears and then say ‘I’ve got to roll away now.’”

Each fleeting moment with a client is different, Norris says, and while it’s brief, she’s had the chance to hear snapshots of hundreds of life stories. And now for second shots, tears have mostly turned to smiles, and people are so excited when they arrive, she says.

“Everyone is just happy, and it makes you happy,” Norris says. “They’re so giving of themselves and they’re just appreciative. I’m glad I’m there to help them.”

She’s also seen some familiar faces as clients returning for their second shot have started asking for her to be their immunizer. She chalks up the requests to her ability to put people at ease while getting their shot — conversations about ice cream and vacations are two of her go-to topics — and how much she enjoys the job.

“That makes me feel really good because they didn’t feel (the needle) the first time and they didn’t want to feel it the second,” she says.

Even on tough days, Norris says she finds comfort in delivering vaccines. Four weeks ago, her father George Bye died suddenly, but Norris says she didn’t take a break from the clinic, knowing her dad was always supportive and would ask ‘how many jabs today?’ at the end of each shift.

She says the first tattooed client that day had an eagle on their arm — her father’s favourite — and her immunization partner that day shared her dad’s name.

“My dad was with me all day,” she says. “He was always a positive man and that’s where we got our traits.”

Over 1.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Manitoba since the first shot was delivered on Dec. 16, and more than 77 per cent of eligible residents have had at least one dose.

Norris praised her colleagues at the clinic, and the team across the province, who are also part of the pack running the race toward herd immunity.

“It does take a lot of people to run the clinic safely and it’s happening and I’m excited to see the number climbing,” she says. “That excites me and makes me want to keep working until it gets there. If they need my help I’m there for them.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca