“I don’t want to add more chronic fatigue to my life”
Living with multiple sclerosis means Georgia Bondy is eligible for flu and Covid-19 vaccines – and she’s keen to protect herself this winter
Georgia Bondy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) during lockdown. Now, she does everything she can to protect herself against flu and Covid-19, which is why the 29-year-old has had both jabs this year.
“I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the middle of the pandemic. It came on rather dramatically when I lost the sensation from my chest downwards over a few days,” says Georgia, who lives in London.
“The unfortunate thing about health conditions is that they can affect anyone.
“I have the kind of MS that’s called ‘relapse remitting’, where symptoms come and they might last a week or a few months and then I tend to recover, maybe not entirely. I lost sight in one eye for a few months and then it came back.”
Georgia, who runs an online platform to empower chronically ill and disabled people to live well, knew that she was at risk of serious illness if she caught Covid-19.
“I’ve had Covid-19 twice and it should be worse for me than it is for other people, but I’d already had a couple of vaccinations, so it was much less severe than it could have been. I was very fatigued and couldn’t get up for a few days, but I wasn’t hospitalised.
“Last week, I had the Covid-19 vaccination and the week before I had the flu jab. I wasn’t excited about the potential side effects, but they are mild and only last a day or two and that is better than getting
A vaccine is the most sensible thing to do in the long term
seriously ill. I don’t want to add more chronic fatigue into my life.
“My background is Caribbean and I understand some of the community in London are worried about vaccines.
“It’s totally valid to feel like getting a vaccine is a faff or you don’t want the side effects, but it’s the most sensible thing to do in the long term.
You don’t want the long term effects of flu or Covid-19 to add to your condition, with extra fatigue or lung issues. Just do what you can to protect yourself.”