Feelings of a ‘burden lifted’
Residents find relief at COVID-19 vaccination site in East Chicago
Less than two weeks before they head to Arizona to see family, Debbie Mesman and her husband both got their first COVID-19 vaccine shots.
Her sister-in-law insisted they both get it before making the trip, she said.
“I was a little leery, but I thought, ‘Oh, just do it,’ ” said Mesman, 63, of Gary, a retired security officer.
“I just kinda feel it hasn’t been on the market long enough,” she said. “But, my husband had it yesterday, and really didn’t have any side effects except for a sore arm.”
“So, I thought, he’s made it, so it will be OK for me,” Mesman said.
They both have “pretty much been home the past year” while limiting visits with their children who are working in public.
“We have to get this under control,” she said. “That’s the big thing. We have to get it under control, so we can get back to normal.”
The Indiana State Department of Health set up 10 temporary vaccine clinics around the state to help with demand including Ivy Tech in East Chicago, 410 E. Columbus Drive. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The site runs through Saturday, said Indiana National Guard Staff Sgt. Mark Scott. On Thursday alone, its first day, the site administered just over 200 vaccines in its first hour, he said. Indiana set aside 16,000 vaccines so far for the 10 clinics and distributed 10,000 on Thursday, he said.
Only those with appointments through the Indiana State Department of Health can get vaccinated there. Walk-ins won’t be inoculated, Scott said.
“It’s super disheartening because people are obviously coming out because they want to get the vaccine,” he said. “And to tell them that they can’t, is something that we don’t want to do.”
Jeffrey Coburn, 63, of Merrillville, a limousine driver said he
jumped over to East Chicago when he was able to get an earlier date. Another appointment was set for March 19 in Merrillville.
One daughter in Florida got COVID-19 along with her family. She was considered high-risk, but luckily didn’t need to be hospitalized and is getting better every day, he said.
His other daughter and her husband both caught the virus, but not their kids.
“It’s just a weird infection, how it works,” he said.
Getting his first shot was a sign life is moving forward.
“I just want to get it over with,” he said of the pandemic.
Barbara George, 62, of Portage, traveled to East Chicago when she had trouble finding an appointment elsewhere.
“I was going online. It was like, March 25,” she said. “This was the first appointment I could get.”
George said she was friends for over 30 years with Darlene Spencer, a Hobart pastor’s wife who was one of Lake County’s first COVID-19 fatalities. Four church members close to George are still in the hospital with virus-related complications, she said.
She runs Relationships Matter, a nonprofit serving 150 people, including veterans. The pandemic has been “very expensive” as it helps with more needs including food, clothing and housing.
“I’m out in the public serving families,” she said. “I don’t want to risk myself or them taking care of
needs that they have.”
Getting her first shot was a relief.
“I guess there’s a comfort knowing I’m in a different place now,” she said. “I’m halfway to my goal.”
Ivy Tech Lake County Chancellor Louie Gonzalez said they were happy to host to provide for the community. The state and National Guard likely would be back in a few weeks for the second doses. The school was open to becoming a long-term site, he said.
Yolanda Williams, 50, of Merrillville said she wasn’t entirely sure she would, but went ahead with her shot.
“I want to keep my family safe,” she said. “I have an elderly mom and I have two kids. I work with the public. It just makes sense.”
During the pandemic, her son, 15, and daughter, 7, have had to scale back their life. Her great aunt died from the virus last year around Easter, she said.
“It’s just like a burden lifted,” Williams said.
Once she’s able to get the second dose, she still plans to be careful, hoping by the fall life can get a little more back to normal, especially for her kids.
“Everybody needs to make their own choice,” she said. “My choice was to be vaccinated to protect the family.”
For those eligible, go to ourshot.in.gov or call 211 to sign up for a vaccine appointment.