Leah

(Interview Conducted September 2021)

Leah, a 27-year-old graduate student, experienced a breakthrough case of the Covid-19 Delta variant that knocked her down for six weeks and left her with lingering symptoms. In February, Leah excitedly received her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine after a year of taking precautions while virtually working with immunocompromised kids at a boarding school and in-person summer camps. Through her work, she witnessed how challenging and scary the pandemic was for the kids. The vaccine was important to Leah because it provided hope for a return to normalcy for the kids and added protection for Leah and her pre-existing health conditions. After mask mandates were lifted, Leah ventured out a select few times without her mask and tested positive for Covid-19 in July. Symptoms started with a sore throat and congestion, then progressed to extreme fatigue, daily fevers, loss of taste and smell, brain fog, and coughing fits that left her body sore. Even being vaccinated, Leah says she was “pretty decently sick” and could not work or attend class. Leah can’t know for sure how things would have turned out without the vaccine, but she believes it kept her out of the hospital. Now, Leah is back at work and school but has noticed lingering brain fog and, most recently, her hair falling out. This has encouraged her to research and reach out to the “Long Covid” community to see if others have experienced effects for this long - having been vaccinated. Her Covid-19 experience has made her a stronger advocate for the vaccine. While she says that she understands and respects everyone’s beliefs and the hesitancy among groups of people such as pregnant women, she feels we should all be doing our part to respect the health of others.

*Watch Leah’s video Zoom interview below