Rocking Horse’s oldest patient, 98, receives COVID-19 vaccine
Rocking Horse Community Health Center gave a COVID-19 vaccination shot to its oldest patient on Friday.
Hazel Carter, 98, said she knew from the moment vaccine rollout began in January that she wanted to receive a shot.
“Well, there are a lot of reasons why, but the big reason is the six children I still have with me, the 25 grandchildren, many grand and many great-grandchildren, I want to be an example for them,” Carter said.
Outside of her family, Carter said she hopes to inspire other community members to be vaccinated by showing the shots are safe.
Carter’s granddaughter, Nettie Carter-Smith, director of community relations for Rocking Horse, said previously she got the vaccine so she could spend time with her grandmother.
She was with her when she received her first dose of the vaccine Friday morning.
Carter-Smith is featured in a video produced by the Clark County Combined Health District featuring prominent members of the Black community encouraging people of color to get vaccinated.
“I miss having dinner with my 98-year-old grandmother,” Carter-Smith says in the video to explain her reason for getting the vaccine. “I have not had dinner with her since March 12, 2020. I just want to be able to sit down and have a meal with her.”
Carter-Smith called her grandmother the “matriarch” of their family and said she looks forward to the two having dinner together safely soon.
To schedule a vaccination at Rocking Horse, at 651 S. Limestone St., residents can call 937-525-4521. Rocking Horse offers the COVID-19 vaccine by appointment only. The health center’s patients take priority.
No one will be turned away due to insurance status.