Covid Vaccine ... Or Not

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

For some victims of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak, whose lives were forever altered by an injection, the prospect of getting the COVID-19 vaccine injection is presenting somewhat of a dilemma.
"Having had one injection that wreaked havoc on my life and others, I am not anxious to obtain one of the new COVID vaccines," said Kathleen Cooley, a Michigan resident.
Cooley said she was not ruling out getting the vaccine "forever" but was adopting a wait and see attitude.
"I am just not sure this vaccine is safe yet," said Dawn Elliott, an Indiana resident who still suffers from her 2012 injection with a contaminated steroid.
"I plan to wait a bit, " Elliott added, noting that a friend of hers had a high fever and blistering gums after getting the second COVID-19 vaccine.
Other victims have expressed concerns on a facebook site which was set up as a communications link for fungal meningitis outbreak victims. Though some have also expressed concern that the after effects of the fungal meningitis outbreak might make them susceptible to a more severe reaction from the vaccine, experts say that is not the case.
"I can think of no reason that persons affected by fungal meningitis should not receive COVID vaccine---unless, as with everyone, they have one of the standard precautions," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Rita Geisler, an Indiana outbreak victim, said she already got the two Pfizer vaccine shots with little effect.
She said she experienced a little hardness around the injection site for a few days after the first shot "but it didn't really hurt."
Joan Peay, a Nashville outbreak victim, said she decided to get the vaccine after her husband got both shots without any ill effects.
She got her first shot over the weekend at the Music City Center.
"I took two ibuprofen on the way there and did not get sick. My arm was a little sore yesterday but it is okay today and I get the second shot in three weeks," Peay said.
Angel Farthing, a Maryland outbreak victim who suffered serious after effects from fungal meningitis, said that she was not at all hesitant about getting the vaccine.
Farthing, who works in education, said she was ready to get back in school and into a normal life.
"I'm done with my life being stolen and my hope is that the shot can give me some of my life back," Farthing added.
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