A STEP CLOSER
WWII veteran gets vaccine at event for seniors 98-year-old anxious to safely see family again
HORSHAM >> For 98-year-old World War II Veteran Merle Caples, getting the COVID-19 vaccine brings her a step closer to seeing her loved ones, whom she says she misses dearly.
“I haven’t seen some of my family for almost a year now — that’s awful when you get to my age,” Caples said.
The Horsham Township woman waited in line for about 1.5 hours for her first dose of the Moderna vaccine Wednesday afternoon at a popup vaccination clinic inside the Horsham Township Community Center, located at 1025 Horsham Road.
But she said she didn’t mind waiting. Caples recalled doing a lot of that while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“I had a great time,” she said. “I was 22 years old when I joined the Marine Corps in St. Louis, Missouri.”
Caples headed to boot camp in North Carolina before being stationed stateside at Camp Pendleton in California. During that time, Caples made a “lot of friends, and I loved every minute of it.”
In addition to World War II, Caples has lived through conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
“During World War II, what I remember is poverty, and not having any shoes; not having shoes that fit,” she said.
After living for nearly one century, she’s witnessed a number of major moments in history including the Great Depression, President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the moon landing, and Sept. 11, 2001.
Now Caples has observed
yet another unforgettable event: the COVID-19 pandemic.
Caples was living in a nursing home in Horsham when the coronavirus pandemic hit a year ago, but upon notice of stringent visitation restrictions at the care facility, Merle’s daughter, Amy Caples, brought her to stay in her Horsham Township home.
“... It’s been wonderful,” Merle said. “Amy’s my sweet caretaker.”
“It’s been such a blessing,” Amy said. “We’ve had a ball. It’s been great for my kids to spend more time with her because she’s got a million stories. We’re having a wonderful time.”
After the first dose was administered, Merle said she “didn’t feel a thing” as she sat with her daughter for the required 15-minute observation period.
Merle was one of 300 to receive their first COVID-19 shot on Wednesday.
“It’s unbelievably heartwarming,” said state Rep. Todd Stephens, R-151st. “That’s why I do this job — to make a real difference in people’s lives, and here’s somebody who dedicated her entire life to this country, served this country admirably, and to be able to ensure that she’s got some peace of mind and some security for her own health is really just an unbelievable feeling.”
Stephens said his office joined forces with Wellness Pharmacy Services, of North Wales, in organizing three vaccination events, netting more than 1,000 inoculations so far.
The inaugural event took place last month, and the second occurred Friday, according to Stephens. Both were held in Montgomery Township.
He added that recipients typically reside within his legislative district, which
encompasses Horsham, Lower Gwynedd, Montgomery, and Upper Dublin townships.
Pharmacy Services coowner Kayly Sie, also a Montgomery County resident, emphasized the importance
of working to help older adults get vaccinated.
“There’s a need here,” she said.
“It’s been a struggle for so many of these seniors to gain access to the vaccine, and so I think it’s really important that we bring the vaccine to them,” Stephens said.
Focusing on the area’s “most vulnerable,” Stephens directed staff members to contact constituents 80 years and older by phone and email, who might typically have trouble finding, or getting to, an appointment elsewhere.
However, he clarified that people over 65 years old are eligible to participate.
Stephens said that family members or neighbors have often assisted older residents with transportation and filling out the necessary forms.
“It’s actually been one of the most rewarding aspects of this project is to see the community coming together to help,” Stephens said.
Once checked in, participants sat socially distanced at a number of tables. Medical professionals administering the vaccine doses then ask them a series of questions pertaining to allergies, recent vaccinations or a positive diagnosis of the novel coronavirus. After getting the shot, they were instructed to wait in a 15-minute observation period.
The 300 people who received their first shot Wednesday are slated to return April 7 for their second dose.
While Stephens hopes to continue holding these clinics, he acknowledged there’s more work to be done to secure adequate vaccine supply for his constituency and the larger region.
“The state really needs to send us more vaccines,” Stephens said. “This shouldn’t be this lottery system where people are trying to find a vaccine anywhere they can.”
“It’s just not working, and that’s why so many of my colleagues and I have been calling on the state to push more vaccines down to the Southeast so that we can get more shots into arms as quickly as possible,” he continued.