MERIDEN, Conn. — She is just over a century old, and she has lived through not one, but two pandemics. On Tuesday, Meriden resident Muriel Reid got her COVID vaccine and FOX61 cameras were there to document the happy moment.
FOX61 greeted Ms. Muriel Reid at the door. How is she feeling, "Good!" she exclaimed. Murial was given the royal treatment at Meriden’s Senior Center. A pink feather boa, a beaded necklace, and a Mardi Gras-themed mask in honor of Fat Tuesday. Lea Crown, the Director of the Meriden Health Department said, "It’s fantastic. We’ve had a lot of older individuals. People in their 80’s, 90’s and now 102."
Then it was time for the big moment. It was over in a literal pinch and Muriel — was wheels up! "I’m ready to go home and go cook," she said.
But Muriel had to stick around for a precautionary 15 minutes like everybody else.
"We know that as they are in the waiting area there are a lot of smiling faces under those masks," Crown said.
This was Muriel’s second dose. So, in roughly two weeks she should be 95% immune from COVID. "It’s necessary. You’ve got to protect yourself," she said. "Getting this will help not to get the virus."
Her caretaker Carrie Teeletold FOX61 she is breathing a "huge sigh of relief. She is a trip. I absolutely love this lady."
Muriel was born in June of 1918, just four months into the Flu pandemic of 1918, sometimes called the Spanish Flu, that lasted until 1920. That pandemic infected about a third of the world’s population and killed between an estimated 17 and 100 million people. Muriel doesn’t remember much of that, but said she’ll never forget COVID. "I didn’t believe it would spread so much but it kept getting bigger and bigger," she explained.
Muriel is widowed, lives alone, but has two children. She came to America from Jamaica in 1968 to start her life in Meriden. "She’s not really able to go out shopping as much as she would like to. She’s very active, she wants to be out there," said Teele.
And before Murial left us to go cook her rice and shrimp. She offered an endorsement. "Would you recommended that other people get the vaccine?" asked FOX61's Matt Caron. "Yeah! You are going to protect yourself," said Muriel.
In all, another 120 people were given their second dose at the Meriden Senior Center Tuesday. By the end of the week, they will have vaccinated about 2,200 people. But the vaccine is still in short supply. Meriden’s clinics are booked solid through mid-March.