By Robert Kalfus and photo (c) Robert Kalfus
I received a message from Montefiore Medical Center on Monday, January 18th, containing a link to register for a Covid-19 vaccination, offering a selection of dates and times. I had not been anxiously looking for a Covid vaccination, and so was at first suspicious that this link was valid.to verify.
Clicking onto the link, I was offered a choice of dates and appointment times as early as two days later! “Too easy,” I thought, but selected an appointment for my first shot, only three days later, at their vaccination center at Eastchester Road in The Bronx. I did not ask nor was told why I was offered a Covid-19 vaccination. I believe that my age, 68, and previous comorbidities, including a pulmonary embolism (blood clot which embedded in my lung), and having survived three previous cancers, caused me to appear on their higher risk lists.
I arrived at the large Montefiore medical building which has easy access and free parking. My ID was first checked in the building lobby entrance, and then again entering the second floor, where a line of about 20 people also waited, slowly moving down the hall to be screened by a Registered Nurse for any possible allergies or previous adverse reactions to vaccinations.
Once screened, the actual vaccination process took less than a minute. Multiple vaccination stations were well prepared in a large open room with cubicles which looked like any office space. Each cubicle contained a seat for the patient, and the desk a tray prepared with a bottle of the Covid-19 vaccine, alcohol prep pads, and already opened bandages for each injected arm.
After vaccination, each nurse asked the patient, ‘Are you feeling OK?’ or “How are you feeling?’ and then every patient sat in a nearby Observation Room for the stated waiting period time of 15 to 20 minutes.
We all first heard of Coronavirus, and Covid-19 almost a year ago in February 2019. For the first time since February 2019, I left Montefiore feeling incredibly and profoundly grateful that I had survived the year without acquiring Covid. I know people who had acquired Covid, even a family member, and have read much about the effects, and was determined to do my best to not become infected, and to not infect anyone else.
I recognize how my habits and interactions have vastly changed since a year ago. I limited my excursions out; became very homebound, preferring the safety of home to the possibilities of being near or interacting with people who might have Covid; increased my shopping online and items for which I previously shopped, instead had packages delivered.
I am aghast of people who foolishly do not believe valid news and medical reports of the almost 500,000, almost half a MILLION Americans who as of this date had died of Covid.
Extensive and well-researched medical studies document that 40 to 50% of people who currently have Covid-19 are unaware they are infected. They exhibit NO symptoms, and are asymptomatic. Some of these people do not wear masks.
Those who deny and those who continue to spread Covid will prevent US from containing this disease. Until at least 70% of US are vaccinated, and protected against all strains of Covid, too many can become infected, infect others, sicken, be damaged by Covid, and die. Wear your mask, properly, and insist that others also do.
I am very grateful for all the work, the incredible intensive effort and expertise, and devotion to saving lives that researchers, epidemiologists, infectious disease control doctors, nurses, and people in all manner of specialties of which I am not even aware devoted to isolating, and controlling Covid-19, and creating, devising, manufacturing, and distributing a vaccine is record time, and now being offered for free to save people’s lives.
Well, not exactly for “free”. The various pharmaceutical companies, which fronted hundreds of millions of dollars, are being reimbursed and paid for their magnificent and successful work. Pfizer refused to take any of the offered “Operation Warp Speed” money offered by the US government, preferring to work unencumbered by any possible political interference or directives.
Before receiving my second Covid-19 vaccination, I was required to be tested for Covid due to a small, scheduled outpatient surgical procedure. I had always wondered if I had acquired Covid in the past year, and hoped that perhaps I had been exposed and hopefully my body’s immune system had developed antibodies! I was glad to be tested, and I learned that I had not previously been exposed to Covid, and had not developed antibodies.
Now I was really eager to get that second shot!
I received my second shot of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19’s vaccine on February 12, and it was a far easier process not just because I knew to where I was going and what to expect. Upon arrival, I was sent right up, and no one was ahead of me….or behind me. I explained to the nurse that I had no adverse reaction to the first shot, other than feeling a little tired, and a slight headache for several hours, and received the second vaccination shot. I have worked as a full time professional photographer since 1973, and perceive and experience the world visually, recording and documenting what I see and feel.
Because no one else was waiting, I had a minute to make the photograph that you see with this article. Returning to my car parked in the nearby free garage, I felt I needed to sit and settle down for a while, to process how incredibly fortunate I’ve been to survive unscathed. Friday afternoon, I did have a headache and once again felt tired, and after eating, slept very well, more than I usually sleep. Saturday morning, I arose feeling great! but after being awake for an hour, I felt my eyes closing and so returned to sleep, for another four hours. No other side effects other than having slept a lot, which we all need.
I am excellent at pushing through and accomplishing things when I need to meet deadlines, but always listen to your body. When I woke after four hours, I felt great, except for a slight soreness in my arm at the injection site, which is to be expected.
I urge EVERYONE to be vaccinated at soon as possible. The life you save WILL be your own, and those of your loved ones, friends, neighbors, even the people with whom you argue. Remember that we all are created in the image of G-d, and all are valuable.
Robert Kalfus lives in Yonkers
