A 104-year-old Iowa woman who was a child during the 1918 flu pandemic officially received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to local reports.
Velma McElderry received her first dose of the vaccine on Saturday, marking what KETV-TV reported being the first time she left home in a year as she remained isolated, away from friends and family to protect herself from the new disease.
McElderry’s daughter, Sue Peters, took her to the appointment. The Council Bluffs wife told the news station that the jab “was not so bad”.
“It will be a great relief when she gets that second photo and starts to see the family and they can get into the whole house and not have to worry about staying at the door or standing two meters away. That will be good,” Peters said.
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Speaking separately to the Sioux City Journal, Peters said his mother has been following the COVID-19 pandemic coverage since the isolation and is looking forward to receiving the vaccine.
“She reads a lot about the pandemic,” said Peters. “She talks about what is happening, how many people are getting the vaccine and how many people have died. She has been very interested in this from the beginning. She is wanting to receive the vaccine ”.
McElderry, who has three children, in addition to five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, was 2 years old when the flu pandemic took over the world in 1918. Although his family was spared, Peters told the news station that she remembers her mother telling stories from that time while she was growing up.
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“She talked a little bit about it, how her mother would talk about devastation and how it could destroy entire families,” said Peters, adding that his mother was probably better protected by living in a small mining town called Olmitz in Time.
“It is longevity. She is a soldier. She is incredible,” Peters added of his mother.