Chance for a vaccine a relief for 27-year-old front-line worker

BRANFORD — Throughout the pandemic, 27-year-old Taylor Haddad never stopped going to work at Marco Pizzeria in Branford, where she sometimes had to remind customers to wear masks.

Though she loves her job as front-end manager, the experience was nervewracking for Haddad – she feared she might spread

COVID-19 to her 7-year-old son, who has asthma. Now, she’s eager to sign up for a vaccination appointment next month, not only to protect her family but to set an example for Marco’s regulars.

The state announced this week it would expand vaccine eligibility to all residents starting April 5.

While the date is still tentative, it means those younger than 35 likely will be able to get inoculated a month sooner than previously anticipated.

This news came after months of frustration for Haddad, who was excited when the vaccine was first approved — and when the state said it would be made available to front-line workers.

Since restaurants had been able to stay open all year, and since she had regular interactions with the public, she thought employees in the food industry would be included.

But she was “disappointed,” she said.

“They considered us front-line workers from the start. We were able to stay open, do takeout, but we weren’t eligible to get vaccinated,” Haddad said. “When they said front-line workers were gonna be eligible to get it, I thought we were gonna be up there.”

When working in the food industry did not ensure a chance to get vaccinated, she continued, there was confusion among her colleagues.

“It should apply to us,” Frank Proscino, general manager of Marco Pizzeria, said of eligibility for frontline workers.

Meanwhile, the restaurant took measures to keep everyone safe while staying open for business.

For example, the restaurant put up Plexiglas to separate the kitchen and counter from the dining area, according to Haddad, who said they also offered a curbside pickup option for customers who were afraid to come inside.

As for Haddad, she was afraid of bringing the virus home.

“For six months, I was so paranoid, I was, like, spraying everything — my phone, my steering wheel,” Haddad said, adding that, for a time, she even sprayed her cash tips with Lysol.

Haddad lives with her mother, Francine Haddad, who spoke of her own anxiety around the issue.

“It freaked me out, especially in the beginning … it was nerve-wracking to have to have her go to work all the time,” Francine Haddad said. “My 84-year-old dad comes over every weekend so it’s like I had to worry about 20 different people.”

She, too, questioned why her daughter wasn’t among the front-line workers eligible from the start.

“Restaurants, grocery workers, they work through the pandemic,” Francine Haddad said. “I absolutely think they should be included in that.”

Now, she is looking forward to the relief that her daughter’s vaccination finally will bring.

But for Taylor Haddad, relief isn’t the only reason she is excited to get the vaccine.

She can’t wait to tell customers she is vaccinated, as she hopes it will encourage them to do the same, she said.

Haddad sees vaccinations as the best bet to return to some kind of normal.

“As soon as all these people realize that getting the vaccine will make a difference, we will get there,” she said.