In 2021, long queues formed at COVID-19 vaccination sites in Bogotá, Colombia. Contemporary reports described residents, including older people, arriving early and waiting amid problems with appointments and eligibility checks. As city leaders urged vaccination, the desire to gain protection became visible in lines outside the sites.
This was not a queue for leisure. Hopes for personal and family safety, work and a return to social life converged on the order for a single injection. Behind the statistics showing rising vaccination totals were individual journeys to a site, document checks and the time each person spent waiting for a turn.