A year into pandemic, victims’ families, doctors grow more optimistic about light at end of tunnel

Before Joeann Snead met her first great-grandchild, she died from COVID-19 early in the pandemic in April.

“I thought that this was gonna be a brief thing. And it passed,” her daughter Catolyn Merriweather said.

A beloved grandmother, Teresa Kelly died from COVID-19 in July.

“I just cannot believe that this happened to my family. It’s traumatizing,” her daughter Jennifer Whitworth said.

Snead and Kelly are just two of the more than 15,000 Georgians who have died over the past year of the pandemic.

They have left behind thousands more grieving family members. But many say they can feel something else now: hope.

“Things will get better. The vaccine is fantastic,” Whitworth said.

[SPECIAL SECTION: COVID-19 Vaccine in Georgia]

It’s not only the vaccines that have inspired optimism.

At Grady Memorial Hospital, doctors say having a year’s worth of research on the coronavirus gives them more tools to treat patients faster.

“It’s really not just a respiratory infection. This is a systemic inflammatory process. It affects all organs, not just the pulmonary system. That was learning for us,” said Dr. Robert Jansen, Grady’s chief medical officer.

President Joe Biden wants all American adults to be eligible for a vaccine by May 1 and will be directing the states, territories and tribal leaders to follow that guidance.

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Local doctors say the vaccines are working better than expected.

“We also have good data that even if you become infected after you’ve been vaccinated, you’re much less likely to transmit the virus than if you had not been vaccinated,” Jansen said.

More and more people every day are getting involved in boosting Georgia’s lagging vaccination rate.

The Georgia Pharmacy Association is helping pharmacy technicians learn how to administer vaccines.

Moye’s Pharmacy in Henry County is now helping to vaccinate teachers and the larger community.

“A lot of times we’re in areas where patients can’t drive or are limited in their ability to drive. We’re certainly more accessible and more convenient,” said Loren Pierce with Moye’s Pharmacy.

[LIST: Here are Georgia’s mass vaccination sites across the state]

There is still more to learn about the virus, long-term immunity after recovery and long-term side effects.

“I have been experiencing a lot of side effects from the COVID,” Cobb County resident Paula Schirmer said.

Schirmer recovered from the virus last April but said she still feels shortness of breath and arthritis she never felt before her diagnosis.

“It has been almost a year. So difficult. And also the psychological effects that this has is very tough,” she said.

The pandemic has been more long term than anyone expected. But a year later those most affected are most eager to see the light at the end.

“Hopefully, this is going to be a positive change. And you know, and we can all be a part part of that positivity,” Merriweather said.

Biden directs states to make every adult eligible for COVID-19 vaccine by May 1 (NCD)