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Vaccine Talks: Convincing My Grandparents That Bill Gates Did Not Want To Microchip Them
Ruzanna Azaryan, left, and Avetis Azaryan, Gevork's grandparents. (Photo by Gevork Apikyan)
This is part of a series of conversations that Cal State Northridge students had with loved ones about COVID-19 vaccinations. Planning your own conversation with family or friends? Here are some tips.
Gevork Apikyan, Northridge
My grandmother has taken the virus very seriously from the start, whether it was home remedies she found on Facebook like eating garlic every day or drinking lemon juice, or sanitizing and masking up during her outings.
After about five months, she started freaking out when her friends, who were less careful, started contracting the virus and being hospitalized. This put a lot of stress on her, especially because my grandpa owns and runs an autobody shop.
My grandparents, both immigrants in their early 70's from Armenia, aren't the best at navigating the web and neither are their friends, so anti-masking and anti-vax conspiracies run rampant. It is beyond exhausting having to help them navigate what is right from wrong. With the amount of misinformation circling the web, my grandmother also had her doubts about the vaccine, thinking Bill Gates wanted to microchip her, thinking the government wanted to kill everyone with the vaccine; it was tough.
But after sitting down with her and showing her the benefits of getting vaccinated, and having her doctor tell her it was safe, she agreed to it, and we were able to get her the vaccine alongside my grandfather. They are now safe and sound, and that is all I can really ask for.
READ THE REST OF OUR 'VACCINE TALKS' SERIES:
- Getting My Father Vaccinated Before He Gets COVID-19 Again
- When Will My Teen Brother, A Cancer Survivor, Be Protected?
- My Mom Is Diabetic, Cleans Offices And Is Not Eligible Yet For The Vaccine. Or Is She?
- My Mom Is A Teacher, But She Did Not Want To Be First To Get Vaccinated
- My Grandmother Surprised Me On The Vaccine
- When Your Dad Supports The Vaccine And Your Mom Thinks It’s Dangerous
- For My Grandmother, It’s Like Polio All Over Again
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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