By Juliana Lavitola

   Dee-Dee became agitated and began talking to herself.  Did she make the right decision?  After pacing back and forth, wringing her hands, she finally decided to phone her son for his advice.

   She told him the Monroe Health Department wanted to schedule an appointment for her to get a Covid-19 vaccination–and she declined it.  Being quarantined for the last 12 months because of the pandemic raised her anxiety level.   

   “What did you do that for?”  He responded with a raised voice.  “The risks are extremely rare.”

   Nervously, she replied: “I’ve only had one flu shot in my life, back in 1976 when the country was in the swine-flu pandemic.  Gerald Ford and his wife Betty encouraged us to be vaccinated.  I was one of 25 percent of the total population who received the shot.”

   “We were told that because it was a pandemic emergency, the vaccine had been produced in only three months, resulting in increased reports of a condition known as Guillain-Barré Syndrome.  They stopped vaccinating immediately saying it was not the right vaccine.  That turned me off from getting any flu vaccinations.  I never got the flu.  Why should I change my position on vaccines now?”

   “Well, this is different.  We all should get this vaccine,” he insisted.

   “I feel a little shaky.  I’m afraid of a reaction.  I’ve had allergic reactions to blood pressure medications, sulfites and other things,” Dee-Dee argued.

   “Mom, you’ve got to get this vaccine.” 

   Her granddaughter Courtney, a pre-med student, concurred with her son.  She reported: “I worked at the vaccine clinic of Griffin Hospital in Shelton.  We did almost 1,000 inoculations a day.  So far we haven’t had a single patient with a bad reaction.”

   Because her son and granddaughter strongly opposed her decision, she reluctantly changed her mind and got herself back on the schedule for Jan. 27 at the senior center.

   That day she woke to a snow-covered driveway.  While clearing the downfall, a sense of well-being and peace came over her.  Her apprehension began to disappear. 

   At the senior center, after a painless injection, she was led to a group of seats staggered six feet apart to wait out the 15 minutes of recovery time.  An EMS crew stood by in front in case someone had a reaction.  They were provided a card showing the name of the vaccine as Moderna and establishing a date a month away for a follow-up dosage. 

   Later, recalling the advice of her son and granddaughter, she came to the realization a change of mind was not only good for herself but also for the protection of everyone else in the world.

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