Calgary woman changes mind about COVID-19 vaccine after 20-minute call with Ontario doctor
Posted Oct 3, 2021 1:44 pm.
Last Updated Oct 3, 2021 1:54 pm.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) ─ A Calgary woman booked an appointment to get her first COVID-19 vaccine after chatting with an Ontario doctor.
Donna Simon has a long and complex medical history and was worried about getting the shot.
“That involves a lot of sensitivities to medications as well, and so I was very hesitant to go in and get a vaccine that to be honest isn’t that old, that I didn’t know much about and how I was going to respond to it. So I was actually quite afraid,” said Simon.
She says she had tried to speak with doctors in Calgary about her concerns, but they were busy with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I had so many questions,” said Simon. “I tried to talk to doctors here and our doctors are so overwhelmed and I couldn’t get a doctor to sit down with me and just deal with my questions, and I completely understand that.”
Just chatted with a #yyc woman who was hesitant to get vaxxed and now has an appointment for her first shot this afternoon! Her story and what changed her mind coming up on @660NEWS this afternoon.
— Haley Jarmain (@HJarmain) October 3, 2021
Simon had heard about the VaxFacts phone line in Scarborough, Ont. The service provides 20-minute phone calls with a doctor to address any questions or concerns around vaccines.
READ: National hotline aims to end COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
So she booked an appointment online and soon after, her phone rang.
“He was wonderful, he was polite, he was thorough,” she said about the experience. “And I had a whole lot of questions about all of my medical issues and drug sensitivities and different things and he answered each and every one very specifically and put my mind at ease.”
Simon says her family also pushed her to get vaccinated but credits the Ontario service with quelling her fears as well.
“Having 20 minutes to talk with someone and say, ‘here are my specific issues, here are my specific concerns,’ and having each one of those addressed in a very thorough way, I feel now that yep, I can go in and do this.”
