Seniors express confidence in their COVID-19 shots
Jim Boyle, 75, of Duquesne Heights, said he spent 2020 feeling depressed due to the lack of socialization that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Linda Newman, 67, of Mount Washington, said being unable to participate in events, such as bingo and poker, was “very rough,” and she was federal angered when her local senior center closed down.
Jim Howells, 66, of Knoxville, said the virus changed his life drastically — he turned back to drinking after 12 years of sobriety.
“I started drinking again because the only places they had open were bars,” he said. “You couldn’t go anywhere but a bar. You get tired of laying around the house doing the same stuff every day.”
The three, all visitors at the Mount Washington Senior Community Center, are like other
“I just want younger kids to take this seriously. And maybe they are now, but there seems to be a bit of nonchalance that was just puzzling to me.” — Joe Klimowicz, senior community center vistor
seniors in Pittsburgh who, after a stressful first year of the pandemic, were excited at the opportunities that the vaccine afforded them this summer: seeing family, eating in restaurants, and ease of mind knowing they were unlikely to get seriously ill if they had a breakthrough infection.
But even as many of the seniors interviewed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said they were confident the vaccine would protect them from the more contagious delta variant, they expressed frustration that many people appear to be ignoring precautions altogether.
Joe Klimowicz, 62, said he wished young adults would take the pandemic more seriously, as people 20 to 29 make up the age group with the most infections in Pennsylvania.
Those 20-somethings also have some of the lowest vaccination rates, according to data from the state Department of Health, with less than 45% of them fully vaccinated. Seniors, on the other hand, have vaccination rates close to 80%.
“I just want younger kids to take this seriously,” said Mr. Klimowicz, a visitor at the city’s senior community center in Beechview. “And maybe they are now, but there seems to be a bit of nonchalance that was just puzzling to me. But now the delta is coming back, and you just have to be vigilant.”
Before getting his shot, he was unable to see his granddaughter until months after her birth in December. The experience taught him not to take anything for granted, he said, and to show more consideration for others.
Although he is an advocate for taking the vaccine now, Stephan Gezovich, 68, took a wait-and-see approach before getting his first shot in May.
“I was a little selfish on that part,” the Beechview resident said. “And I didn’t have no problem with either shot, so it was real good.”
Both Mr. Gezovich and Mr. Klimowicz said they weren’t worried about developing severe symptoms from a breakthrough infection because of the protection provided by the vaccine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 12,908 patients as of Aug. 30 who had COVID-19 breakthrough infections leading to hospitalization or death. With more than 173 million people in the U.S. fully vaccinated, that data represents a 1-in-13,000 chance of having severe COVID-19 during a breakthrough infection.
But older people remain some of the most vulnerable to deadly COVID-19 even when vaccinated, with people ages 65 and up accounting for 70% of breakthrough hospitalizations and 87% of deaths.
Jackie Delessandro, 71, also of Beechview, has lung cancer and, even though she has ongoing muscle complications from her first vaccine dose, she is looking forward to her third dose, a booster that federal officials have recommended.
“I have lung problems, so why not?” she said of getting the shot. “I’d be stupid if I didn’t. I want to live. I don’t want to [get] myself cremated at an early age.”
Many of the older adults interviewed said they were agitated by the high numbers of young people who have held out on getting a vaccine. But Mary Mentzer, 71, pointed out that young people offered help to many elderly folks during the early days of the vaccine rollout, when the availability of doses struggled to keep up with demand. She said they were making appointments for the elderly that required vigilance of monitoring multiple websites at once.
“Several of the seniors, their kids set up appointments for the shots,” she said. “And that’s what my nieces did for their dad. They made his phone calls and set up his appointments.”
Some also offered reminders that the elderly are not the only ones who can develop complications from COVID-19. Jane Roy, 88, of Duquesne Heights, caught an infection before her vaccination but only experienced fatigue.
Her son, Nick, is in his 50s and did not fare as well.
“My son was very, very sick,” Ms. Roy said during a visit to the Mount Washington center. “He had to go to the hospital by ambulance.”
He was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital in the spring of 2020 and developed symptoms so severe that he was unable to breathe, but he made a recovery after receiving treatment.
“Oh, we were all worried, my goodness,” she said.
Many folks said the shot offered an ease of mind after a stressful year, knowing that they were likely to be protected from any deadly outcomes in the rare case that they did get sick. Mr. Boyle said he tested positive after his vaccination after learning that his brother had contracted COVID-19, and he didn’t have any symptoms.
Even with the approach of a second pandemic winter, when cases and deaths peaked last year, and with infections still rising amid the delta surge, they said they were confident they would persevere.
“I’m not worried about winter,” Mr. Klimowicz said. “I mean, we’ve been through the wringer.”
“We made it through all last year,” Ms. Delessandro added. “We have faith ... to get through it again.”