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.
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