After 8 fully-vaccinated family members get COVID, Miami Valley woman still encourages vaccines

MIAMI VALLEY — A Miami Valley woman said she and seven other fully vaccinated family members got Covid.

“I want people to know that it can happen, that it is happening all around us,” Jenny Harlow said.

She tested positive in early August, and said during a period of about 10 days so did her other relatives.

“We hadn’t been together, so definitely all didn’t get it from the same place. And we had all been fully vaccinated, so it just seemed like kind of a strange nightmare,” Harlow said.

She provided WHIO with all eight vaccination records.

Harlow explained, most of her family had mild cases and have all mostly recovered. However, her 93-year-old father is still in the hospital and has been for about three weeks.

“He said this is the worst thing he’s ever been through in his whole life, just a daily fight to breathe,” Harlow said.

As he fights, she is angry.

“This is what we avoided for a year and a half, not going anywhere, wearing masks all the time, having deliveries of groceries, and not seeing any family members,” Harlow said.

Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein, Kettering Health’s patient safety officer said, stories like this are becoming more common.

“We’re beginning to see more cases of breakthrough infection in people who have been vaccinated previously, and that’s consistent with nationally what’s seen with this delta variant,” Weinstein said.

He explained, the vaccines were more effective against earlier strains but the delta variant is challenging the shots. However, he said they still offer protection against the deadly virus, and in most situations, vaccinated people do not end up in the hospital.

“I want to very unequivocal about this, that the vaccine still does help people against the delta strain, absolutely no question,” Weinstein said.

He still wants as many people as possible to get vaccinated.

“By reducing the likelihood you’re going to get infected, it’s going to reduce the spread from asymptomatic people, a key factor here with the coronavirus,” Weinstein said.

Even after all Harlow and her family have been through, she still think people should get vaccinated. She added, it potentially protected the rest of her family, including her 93-year-old mother. They all ended up with just cold like symptoms.

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