vaccination advice

jayjayy1992

Hey all, hope all you caretakes are doing well.

My grandmother is in like middle/early late state dementia.  She (80) is bed bound but we put her in a wheelchair to have her meals. I need some advice. My grandmother is basically stable in her stage right now besides a few minor things like blood pressure/heart issues (swelling in feet constantly) and occasional water in lungs every so often but other than that shes been doing ok thankfully. 

Anyhow were almost 3 years into this pandemic and she is still not vaccinated.  I got covid 6months ago and she never did thank god. I always thought her body would not be able to handle the side effects of the vaccine.  With this new omicron variant, i'm starting to reconsider.  were all conflicted. Doc says she can take it if we wanna give it to her.  My dad and I think its a bad idea, while mom and uncle think she should get it.  My fear is how extremely contagious this new variant is and that even though she doesn't leave the house, if we get it she might actually get it this time.   

anyone have advice on what they did for their loved ones? much appreciated, thanks!

jfkoc

At a minimum everyone who comes in contact with her must have the 3 shots.

jayjayy1992

jfkoc wrote:

At a minimum everyone who comes in contact with her must have the 3 shots.

Yes in our house, we all got boosters. But my grandmother is the only unvaccinated one in the house. Should we just give her the vaccine? 

Quilting brings calm

You are going to get a lot of opinions about that based mostly on whether the poster themselves are vaccinated.  My parents had virtually no side effects from their three shots,  they are in their 80s.  I had some minor fatigue, ark redness, etc.   older son had no side effects, younger son was wiped out for a day.

The virus itself can range from mild to deadly.  From a quick recovery to effects that last for months. Dementia patients who end up with covid brain fog don’t need that particular side effect.  

If you need to place your loved one, you will probably have to vaccinate her before you can place her. If you need outside help, you will either have to vaccinate her or require the help to be vaccinated.  It’s hard to find help even without that requirement. 

DawnOfANewDay

My mom (81 with dementia) and my MIL (85 and no dementia) have all three shots and both experieced no side effects other then mild tenderness at the vaccination site.  

You can google it, but I think the elderly are less likely to have the side effects.

harshedbuzz

jayjay-

Who hold the POA? That is the person who bears the responsibility for the choice and who owns the consequences of that choice.

I know quite a number of people who have had COVID- many of them have died- and that colors my thinking.

Any one of those caring for your mom could carry the virus to your mom. Even with a vaccine, someone with a mild "breakthrough" case could infect your mom with dire consequences. The first person I knew to die was my bestie's older brother who'd suffered a stroke and was in a SNF- a caregiver delivered it to his bedside. 

If your mom does contract COVID, she is of an age and physical condition where she is unlikely to survive. Will you transport her to the hospital for care knowing that she's occupying a bed that is needed for a younger person with COVID who is more likely to survive or a person who needs to be scheduled for a much-needed surgery. (I have another friend whose husband is awaiting a surgery to fuse a couple vertebrae; he's in agony and can't work because of the pain) Will you transport her to be cared for by overworked staff who are suffering from "empathy fatigue" as it relates to unvaccinated patients? Will you transport her knowing she will die alone or with a single family member (maybe) because of COVID-visitation restrictions?

A couple anecdotes.

A dear friend and her husband recently survived COVID. They're in their 50s; both had 2 doses of Moderna and a booster. She had a fairly easy time; he has MS and takes a medication which interferes with vaccine efficacy. He was hospitalized twice; during the time his care team- individually- thanked him for taking the vaccine. The SW was great at doing daily Facetime so they could "visit" and the doctors kept my friend (also a medical person) looped in twice a day.

Another friend's mom, 93, recently died from complications of COVID. This woman was in amazing physical condition and used her "exceptional health" as an excuse to skip the vaccine. Ironic given she'd been in the Peace Corps working at a vaccine clinic after she retired. This is a woman who spent her 90th birthday in Antarctica, broke a hip at 91 and was fully recovered and driving before her next birthday. She contracted COVID in early September when numbers were lower here. She was OKish for about 2 weeks before needing to be hospitalized. My friend was allowed to visit while she was in the hospital, but it became clear her mom wasn't going to survive this. Once it was clear mom wasn't going to get better, the hospital cleared her out to a SNF which would accept her. There, my friend could visit once a week for an hour. Death did not come quickly. Her mom lingered, struggling to breath for almost 6 weeks. It was really hard on my friend (a biochemist) and her family (an RN with ICU experience early in the pandemic). My friend's mom was h*ll-on-wheels-- she deserved a better death. 

HB

BassetHoundAnn

My advice is to get her vaccinated. My 95-year-old mom got the three shots and had no reaction to any of them. 

One of the things people often don't understand about vaccination is that it protects not only the person who's been vaccinated but also the people who come in contact with them. 

Your grandmother's caregivers could be high risk, or they may have family members who are high-risk who could easily die from covid. Having your grandma vaccinated will ensure that even if she does get a breakthrough infection her caregivers and their families will be protected because the amount of virus transmitted by those vaccinated is small compared to the amount transmitted by those who are unvaccinated. 

And yes, if you do want her admitted to any kind of care or rehab facility in the future she will need to be vaccinated. 

DrinaJGB

You state you worry how she will handle the vaccines. Aren't you equally worried about how she will handle covid?

Isabelle95

My husband is an 86-yr. old Alzheimer's patient in an assisted living/memory care home. I took him to get his first two shots as soon as I could, back in February/March 2021. A couple of weeks ago, the health dept. came to the care home and gave residents and staff their boosters, if they wanted them. They gave my hubby his booster with my full support. He is under hospice care, and different people come in who have been dealing with multiple patients. I don't want my hubby getting Covid, or even spreading it to others himself. What if he caught it and then spread it to the caregivers in this small, licensed home?? They would lose their livelihood, the handful of other patients would probably have to be removed, and who knows what other consequences could result. He had absolutely NO reaction whatever to the Pfizer injection. I got the Moderna myself and at age 83, only had a mild headache. I would do it again.

MN Chickadee

I personally would be more worried about how she would survive covid than the vaccine.  The Omicron variant is proving to be so much more transmissible than Delta, and while it is more mild for most people it may not be for her - she would be considered high risk for severe covid due to her age and dementia. There have been and will continue to be lots of breakthrough cases. Even with a booster people are testing positive, and while the vaccine prevents most from getting very sick they can still spread it to someone more vulnerable. That means a family member could spread it to her. For what it's worth, my frail 75 year old mother with dementia was fine after the second dose and booster, as was my father who is 83. They were slightly more tired the day after but no other side effects.

jayjayy1992

My mother and I are the primary care takers for my grandmother.  Were all vaccinated with boosters. Initially we never found the need to vaccinate my grandma because she never leaves the house.  But now its getting way to risky.  And as much as we try to be careful, we as caretakers also can't tie ourselves down at home so we go out with friends and go places. Initially it was fine if you were vaccinated, but now that the new strain is more contagious there seems to be no way around it.  So i will check with her doc and see what they recommend.  

Also, they expect the surge in cases within the next few weeks here in CA, so im hoping she can get the second shot without catching anything. 

FTDCaregiver

After checking with our doctor, both my DW with FTD and I got the covid booster as well as flu shots.

Klgm326

96 year old mom in MC- got all 3 shots— no side effects

King Boo

JayJay-

In as much as your grandmother is in the age demographic where she is likely to experience a more severe illness from covid,   the benefits of vaccination probably outweigh risk. 

  Vaccination has put people in the hospital (had an elderly patients have bad reactions to the point of even need rehab afterwards), but this risk is lower than the risks of a Covid infection, because she is in the age range where she is a thousand more times likely to die than a young healthy person.

However, it is the POA's responsibility to make that decision so do not stress yourself out over something you may have no control over.

There are many studies that are indicating that both the unvaccinated and vaccinated can spread Covid 19 so one must be careful of our vulnerable elderly no matter what the situation.

Good luck with her care.  

I will mention that a new protein based vaccine is on the horizon, Novavax, if this is a part of your family's vaccine hesitancy.  It just received WHO EUA yesterday.  But it may be a while before available here.

Mint

My 89yo friend, MC, 3shots, did well.

ADH77

I agree that you should get her vaccinated. As an elderly ill person, she is at high-risk for serious complications if she were to contract COVID--which, as we all know, is highly contagious. Someone with dementia also cannot be relied upon to take precautions--consistent use of masks and distancing--because they won't understand the need to alter their behavior in such ways. So getting her the vaccine is critical to greatly improve her chances of not contracting the virus or having only a mild case if she does. Instances of serious side effects from COVID vaccine are very rare--much rarer than the instances of serious side effects and deaths from COVID. My 80 year-old mother with late-stage Alzheimers did fine with her 3 shots. I expect your mom will too.

OK2Overwhelmed

Yes, get her vaccinated. Listen to her doc. My mom had 2 shots + booster and didn't have any negative reactions. I was told that older people have a less robust immune system (so they should get the vaccinations) and that's why they don't really have reactions to the shots (which are triggered by your existing immune system).

She needs to be vaccinated in case someone comes IN the house with Covid – they may be asymptomatic, or in the early stage, but still shedding the virus. If she does get Covid and survives, there are other factors like organ damage that is permanent (I know of 2 people who have heart damage after having Covid).

Good thing is now that shots are available everywhere, so you should really have her get one TODAY. If something should happen to her and she needs to go to the doctor or to the hospital, those place can be filled with Covid patients.

Good luck! and get a flu shot while you're there, too.