The clinic became ‘peaceful’ as the world-renowned cellist serenaded others during their post-vaccination observation time.
In an airy, sunny gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, under basketball hoops and banners, in front of people freshly pricked and waiting for minutes to pass, Yo-Yo Ma played a little Bach. The world-renowned cellist had gone to the vaccination clinic at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Mass., for his second coronavirus vaccine dose, according to clinic organizers. After getting his shot, he took a seat along a padded blue wall of the gym, near others waiting out their 15-minute post-vaccination observation time, and surprised them with a performance. Leslie Drager, the lead clinical manager for the vaccination site, said that when Ma started to play, the whole place went quiet. “It was so weird how peaceful the whole building became, just having a little bit of music in the background,” said Drager, who is the lead public health nurse for Berkshire Public Health Alliance. She said the vaccination site has nine stations of nurses administering doses. On Saturday,1,102 shots were administered – all second doses. Ma arrived toward the end of the day. “People are talking and moving, there are lots of volunteers, and everybody just went quiet and went to watch and listen,” Drager said. When Ma got his first dose, he came and went mostly unnoticed, she said. This time, he arrived with his cello. Hilary Bashara, a nurse administering vaccinations at the clinic, said she administered both of Ma’s doses. The first time, Bashara said, she noticed Ma as he took in his surroundings.
