As the UK roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations got underway in London this morning, there was a hiccup almost immediately, when a hospital porter carrying a box containing 200 phials of the lifesaving vaccine stumbled and fell, dropping his load in the process, and shattering its contents.
The incident happened as twelve boxes of vaccine were being unloaded from a special refrigerated van outside Guy's Hospital in the capital.
The porter, a squat figure standing about 5' 7" and weighing close to 17 stones, clasped his powerful tattooed arms around the box, and confidently lifted it from the van. As he entered the foyer of the hospital, however, he was unsighted, and tripped over a flapping corner of the carpet just inside the doors, falling headlong, and losing his grip on the box.
Members of the worldwide media who had gathered to watch the historic delivery, gasped, and there was silence, apart from the sound of glass being crushed, a bit like a pair of spectacles being squashed by a jackboot.
The government have said there will be around 800,000 vaccinations carried out before the end of the year, and have asked hospitals not to employ any more portly porters, and that they ensure all carpets are nailed down at the corners.
