Dorothy Harris lived through the 1918 Spanish Flu. Yesterday, the 106-year-old received the COVID-19 vaccination on the Duke Raleigh Hospital campus to help her through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dorothy said she received the vaccine because she knows it will help get her back to the people she loves—most especially her nieces, nephews, and great-grandchildren that she hasn’t been able to see during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As she waited in observation after receiving her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Dorothy reflected on the Spanish Flu, sharing what she recalled as a toddler in Chatham County.
“I know how sick we all were,” Dorothy said. “Our neighbors brought food to the door. They were scared of it just like they are now.”
Back then, she said “we took a lot of precautions.”
Thursday’s trip to the Duke Raleigh Hospital campus was one of the rare outings for Dorothy since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Dorothy says even with the vaccine she’s planning to continue being cautious, avoiding crowds, and wearing her mask.
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