Covid-19 vaccine brings relief to family caregivers

Emad Habash, 41, a regional CVS pharmacy director in Indianapolis, describes his first week of vaccinating as “nothing like anything I've seen in my career.” Caregivers, residents and

staff greeted his team with loud cheers, applause and raised hands. One woman broke down in tears. “I'm so excited,” her husband told Habash. “We've had to be so careful with her

diabetes, and now maybe we can see our family and grandkids." CARING FOR EACH OTHER As a resident of Newbury Court, in Concord, Massachusetts, author Katharine Esty, 85, had a decision

to make when the lockdown came: Should she cohabitate with her newish boyfriend or should they stay in their separate apartments and not be able to see each other at all. With a few hours to

act, they moved some of his things into her apartment, where they could care for each other. "Many of the spouses here are primary caregivers to their loved ones, some of whom have

dementia and other issues,” she says. “I worried about my friends and tried to stay in touch by phone.” She was determined to be by her boyfriend's side when he got the vaccine, because

he had experienced allergic reactions to medications in the past. “He handled it all like a champ, with no side effects,” she says. “Seeing people again was a reminder that relationships

are what matter most.” And in a final reminder that frontline health care workers wear multiple hats, Benjamin Skov, 26, a CVS pharmacist from Coventry, Rhode Island, was able to vaccinate

his own grandparents at one of the clinics. When he stopped by afterward to check on them, his grandmother dissolved into tears. “Out in the field, we see the reactions of patients and

staff, but rarely the rest of the family,” he says. “I think the biggest thing for us all to remember is that for every patient who's glad to be vaccinated, there's an entire

family who we put at ease." _Lee Woodruff is a caregiver, speaker and author. She and her husband, Bob, cofounded the_ Bob Woodruff Foundation_, which assists injured service members

and their families. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram._ _ _