As part of the global efforts to fight the covid-19 virus, some of the world's most popular landmarks are being repurposed as vaccination centers. Among these are Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue, London's Wembley Stadium, and Disneyland theme park in California.
In Brazil, the Corcovado site, where Christ the Redeemer statue stands high overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro, has been selected as a symbolic location to debut the national vaccination campaign. In front of this breathtaking scene, Dulcineia da Silva, 59, opened wide her arms like the iconic statue holding her vaccination certificate in her hand.
Many stadiums around the world have also been transformed into vaccination hubs including the well-known Wembley Stadium in London, which opened its doors for people willing to be vaccinated.
"It's such an iconic place. And all those amazing cricketers... love it," one recipient, Gerardine Heneghan, 71, told AFP.
In southwestern UK, the Salisbury Cathedral, an English Gothic architectural masterpiece, has been also selected to take part in the vaccination campaign led by the country in its fight against the pandemic.
"The cathedral, for 800 years, has stood here for two reasons. One is to give glory to God; the other is to serve God's people. Right now, this is the most effective way we can do both those things," said the dean of the cathedral, Nick Papadopulos. Jovial organ music accompanied the whole vaccination process at the cathedral.
For some of those who can't easily go to get their jabs, the vaccines come to them instead, said officials in the city of Rennes, eastern France, as the local authorities launched a "vaccination bus" to jab older people in rural regions.
After 10 months shut down by the pandemic, the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California came back to life as a vaccination center, aiming to give 7,000 shots a day. But obviously, the site's visitors today are remarkably older than the visitors it used to host during normal times.
