VACCINES ALREADY IMPROVING LIVES.
Six ways vaccines are already improving Houstonians’ lives
As a growing number of Houstonians are vaccinated, people who’ve been COVID-conscientious for a long, awful year are beginning to emerge, cautiously, from their pandemic bubbles. Here are six ways that vaccines are already improving Houstonians’ lives. Medical workers’ quality of life.
Linda Haines, pharmacy operations manager at Houston Methodist Hospital, planned quarterly mentalhealth days out for the residents she supervises. Those trips stopped abruptly in 2020: She and the residents, on the front lines of Houston COVID testing, were stretched to their limits, and besides, where would they go?
These days the residents still frequently work long hours in Methodist’s vaccination clinic. But as medical workers, they had early access to vaccinations themselves. And this week, Haines decided it was time to resume the mental health days.
She picked the new Houston Botanic Garden as the place where they’d volunteer. It’d be safe, she figured: They’d be outside, would have plenty of room for social distancing, and would wear their masks.
Besides, the symbolism was irresistible. The garden still showed signs of February’s brutal freeze. Thursday, the residents helped clear away the damage, making way for spring’s new growth.
Weddings. In December 2019, after Kevin Velasquez and Kathryn Dianiska were engaged, they picked an easy-to-remember wedding date — 4/3/21 — and invited around 80 people. Then, as coronavirus reality set in, they canceled. A superspreader event wasn’t what they had in mind.
They still loved the date, though. And as vaccine began rolling out fast, they hatched a new plan: A radically scaled-down outdoor wedding at
Hermann Park’s McGovern Centennial Gardens. (Velasquez, the membership and marketing director of Hermann Park Conservancy, had an in there.)
To be vaccinated, the couple drove to Tyler, which opened its appointments to adults of all ages long before the rest of Texas had. By the week of the wedding, all 11 people who’d attend had been vaccinated; all but two had had their second doses.
It was a far cry from the “normal wedding” they expected in 2019. As of Thursday, Velasquez wasn’t sure where exactly they’d stand to be married. “Nomad-style,” he called their new plans. Officiating: His best friend. The entire decor: Eight folding chairs. Music: a Bluetooth speaker.
The plain fact that it was happening made him giddy. “I can’t think of a way I’d rather do our wedding,” he said.
Work. Right after receiving his second dose Wednesday, Realtor Robert Searcy said that once his vaccine reaches full effectiveness, he’d consider holding open houses — something he hasn’t done in more than a year.
Being fully vaccinated allowed Barkley Thompson, dean of Christ Church Cathedral, to resume visits to the hospital and hospice on March 21 — also for the first time in more than a year. “Sharing in person both joy and grief is an incarnational part of ministry,” he wrote. “I have sorely missed it.”
Travel. This week, new, real-world studies showed that the vaccines don’t just prevent the disease, but also infection. Friday the CDC updated its travel guidelines for vaccinated travelers: Though they should still wear masks, socially distance and keep their hands clean, they don’t need to self-quarantine, and no longer need to be tested before or after their trip unless the destination requires it. (Tests and self-quarantine are still recommended for the unvaxed.)
Carleton Cole, owner of A Better World Video Productions, is among those dreaming of flight: His trip to Guatemala, to help with the Free Wheelchair Mission, has been on hold since last year.
Samantha Villarreal, a health care worker, has been vaccinated since January. “We are ready to TRAVEL!!!” she wrote on Facebook this week. “Southwest Airlines points, here we come!!!”
Martha Dunkelberger, an associate professor at the University of Houston, got her second dose of vaccine Wednesday. “Yay, science!” she captioned a selfie with her vaccine card. Now she’s dreaming of the places she might soon visit. “I know many people have traveled while under restrictions,” she wrote. “But I haven’t slept anywhere but my bed since November 2019. I want to go somewhere.”
Peace of mind. Many people say they haven’t changed anything about their lives since being vaccinated. They worry that they might unknowingly transmit the virus to someone else. “It seems logical to err on the side of caution,” said flight controller Daniel Reyes.
But even so, many say, the vaccine has a huge benefit. Cathy Hunt, a retired art teacher, got her second dose in February. Now, she said, she can “wake up in the morning and be unafraid.”
Hugs. “Fully vaccinated hugs are the best!” said Glenbrook Valley resident Shannon McNair.