The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, its boosters and third dose shots are the only ones that have full FDA approval, while Moderna is offering third dose shots at many pharmacies in multiple states without official FDA approval and without doctor recommendation. The third dose of Moderna is exactly the same as the first two shots, and a booster shot is typically a half dose. Currently, the Moderna vaccine, as well as its booster and third dose shots, are approved for emergency use and the FDA will be meeting in mid-October to discuss further approval for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

“Pfizer is the only approved Covid booster available right now,” said Dr. Yolanda Reyes, a neurologist in Miami, Florida. During the pandemic, she was called in as an emergency doctor to help treat Covid-19 patients while hospitals were at their max capacity. “If you got Pfizer, you can take the booster six months after your last shot, especially if you’re at risk, like being over the age of 65. Your booster shot should match whatever your other vaccines were. So if you got Moderna, you shouldn’t mix it with Pfizer.”

Dr. Reyes’ statements match the CDC’s website on booster shot guidelines: don’t mix your shots, and only take it if you fall into a certain group of high-risk individuals that may need greater protection, such as healthcare workers.

“I’m a healthcare worker exposed to Covid every day,” said Dr. Reyes. “I’m 59, not over 65, but I’m older. Maybe if I was a younger doctor, my response would be different because I think my immune system will be able to handle it. But since I’m older, I’m taking the booster because immunity from the shot goes down over time and I need to be protected, especially to help others.”

Despite these guidelines, there is still confusion across these high risk groups regarding booster shots, especially those who received a Moderna vaccine. In pharmacies across the country, Moderna “boosters” are being offered, which are usually just a third shot with a full dose of the vaccine, exactly the same as the first two shots.

“It was my understanding at the time that I got it that it was the exact same shot that I got on the previous two times, which would be the full dose, although I thought maybe I would be getting a half dose,” said Laura Bonavita, a Jupiter, Florida resident who got a third dose of Moderna. 

Bonavita sought out a booster shot because she has an autoimmune disorder and was traveling soon. With many airlines back at full capacity, she wanted some extra protection before her flight.

“Even though I do wear my mask all the time and I carry hand sanitizer, I just felt that I would be better prepared if I would get the third dose,” said Bonavita. “So, I got my third dose without talking to my doctor first. I just went ahead and got it at a pharmacy because I knew I was going to be on an airplane.”

All she had to do was list her existing conditions that qualify her need for a booster once she got to the pharmacy . She did not have to show proof of her existing conditions. 

Some people over the age of 65 were waiting for the news of a third dose to come out, hoping it would reinforce their immune system and give them further protection. Older residents have also found that their side effects from the vaccine are similar to how they reacted to the first two doses.

“I got vaccinated because I wanted to feel protected from Covid-19, especially at my age,” said Orfilia Barrientos, 89, a Miami resident. “After the booster shot, I had no reactions or symptoms, it was not painful or uncomfortable at all. I do feel much safer knowing I have it, especially since new variants can always appear.”

 Dr. Reyes encourages her reluctant patients to take the vaccine anyways, if not for themselves, then for those around them.

“Taking your booster doesn’t mean that you have less immunity, or that the first two shots that you took were not effective,” said Dr. Reyes. “What it means is that we know that the effectiveness of vaccination decreases over time. So getting a booster is exactly that, it’s a booster. You’re going to boost, or help out, your immune system.”

And, many agree, increasing vaccination rates is the only way to bring society back to a safer, more normal life. 

“I’d recommend everyone that can get vaccinated to do so,” said Barrientos. “It’s the only way we’ll start to see normalcy again.”

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 “I’m not trying to reintegrate, I’m too old,” said Robert Dunn, 89, of the Bronx. “I’m on the fringe. I mean, I go out to the store, and I come back. I don’t socialize very much.”

 Older adults continue to be one of the most at risk populations of becoming ill, hospitalized, or dying from Covid 19. In the U.S., adults 65 and older account for 16% of the population, but 80% of Covid deaths. As of October 4, 2021, there have been 34,284 total Covid deaths total in the city since the start of the pandemic. The majority have been 65 and older.

 “You can see that [the pandemic] wore on [the residents],” said Ivan Arvelo, 50, the manager at Cooper Square Senior Housing in NoHo. “A lot of them are still afraid, a lot of them are still a little passive. There’s a slow reintegration because a lot of people act like Covid isn’t even around anymore.”

 While some seniors find social connection within public places such as senior centers, group classes, or discounted movies, they said they’re uncomfortable re-engaging in these activities.

 “I don’t go into a Sears or any place where there are close people,” said Dunn, of the Bronx. “It’s a big nuisance. I mean, you feel restricted, and you’re not able to live normally.”

 Although 70% of seniors within the city are vaccinated, 28.5% of NYC residents are not.

 “Now, with the lifting of the restrictions, we still are very conscientious,” said Richard Muller, 74, of the East Village. “Even though we’re vaccinated, we wear masks. We don’t understand why people don’t get themselves vaccinated.”

 Muller said that he and his friends are fearful due to fear of transmission from those who are still unvaccinated.

 “I’d say that there’s a sort of a vigilance,” said Muller. “There’s a public concern that some people are not acting responsibly. We’re hopeful, but still cautious because we don’t want to get sick.” 

One in four older adults reported anxiety or depression since the start of the pandemic. Older adults are still recommended to follow current public health guidelines, limiting indoor and in-person social interactions, which contributed and still contributes to isolation among seniors.

“They were isolated for a long time,” said Arvelo. “I mean, isolation is no joke when you’re a senior, and I saw it first hand. They’re more vulnerable and scared that if something does happen to them, they’re the ones that will be impacted the most.”

 While getting out and being social is a problem for New York elders, connecting through technology continues to be challenging as well.

 “I am terrible with technology,” said Amy Weprin, 87, of East Village. “I only use the landline. I have a cell phone, but it stays off.”

 Dunn said that trying to connect through technology is not an option.

 “I don’t even know what [Zoom] is,” said Dunn. “Technology is out of the question. I don’t understand it, and I don’t even try.”

 Arvelo said that he doesn’t think NYC seniors will reintegrate into public life until local herd immunity exists.

 “I think until we get a local herd immunity, that’s when they’re going to really feel safe and start doing the same things they used to do all the time,” said Arvelo. “I think until we have herd immunity they’re not going to want to be around other people.”

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Surviving a city with so much mobility brings not only physical challenges to the elderly. Mental health and social connections are also critical to seniors. NYC’s Department for the Aging funds over 250 senior centers across the 5 boroughs. With more than half of the seniors’ population being immigrants, places such as the NYC Chinatown Senior Center helps them break the language barriers and find their communities.

But, with the increase of the aging population in the city, the medical supply is not meeting the demand. There are less than 8,000 geriatricians in the country. Megan Rau, a geriatrician from NYU Langone Health urged young professionals to learn the primary geriatric principles, and apply them to their future practice.

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by Ben Shapiro

Aided by volunteers, one by one a small group of Holocaust Survivors slowly got up, formed a circle and danced “The Hora”, a traditional Jewish song of celebration.

“This is the music of their childhood,” said Joseph Pariente, a 63-year-old social worker from Brooklyn. “This music, that they hear, brings them back to the childhood that they did not have.”

Traditional Yiddish songs were played at The Flatbush and Shaare Torah Jewish Center this afternoon in Brooklyn. With help from New York Cares Volunteers, the Self Help Inc.’s Nazi Victim Service Program used the Brooklyn synagogue to host a social event bringing about 50 holocaust victims together. Friendly chatter or “schmoozing” filled the room for the entire two hour gathering, as the guests enjoyed a plate of chicken, coleslaw, and the traditional Jewish dish known as kugle.

Pariente believes these events are very important to the large population of Holocaust survivors that reside in Brooklyn. Many of them don’t have any remaining family members, and these social functions are there only chance at interacting with others.

“This is one of their main socializations, said Pariente. “They come out, they get dressed, the women put makeup, they put mascara, they put on the whole bit, because to them, it is an outing that they have been looking forward for the whole month.”

The emblem of the Jewish Center, with its core values written in both English and Hebrew. Photo Credit: Ben Shapiro

Sharona Herskovits is the supervisor of the Nazi Victim department that works out of Midwood, Brooklyn. Herskovits decided to get in to social work after taking the advice of a college guidance counselor who tried channeling her passion for psychology. Now, working for her 15th year at Self Help, not only does Herskovits love what she does, but she also has a personal tie to the organization she represents and its cause.

“I grew up with it, my grandparents were Holocaust survivors,” said Herskovits, who is in her 30’s. “They were both in Auschwitz,” she said.

As a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Herskovits has extra reason to care for this dwindling population. Her group aids these victims in several different ways, including housekeeping, case management, and the fulfillment of other daily needs, with the overall goal of keeping them comfortable in their own homes. Still, despite her department’s efforts, which help almost 1,000 people, Herskovits believes more needs to be done to support these survivors.

“I mean, you need a lot more funding because they are dying out, they are slowly deteriorating, or shall I say, not slowly but rapidly,” said Herskovits, a resident of Brooklyn. “Some of them are not in the financial area where they can afford care.”

For many of these survivors, no family is the main culprit for their financial woes. Some of them are reliant on reparation checks from the German Government that can come in as frequently as once a month. Although, 84-year-old Helen Weiss does not suffer from this problem, she still lives with her husband Jack, a fellow survivor, and the two of them have seven grandchildren. In fact, having a family is what helped Weiss escape Nazi Germany almost 80 years ago.

“I want a family. I don’t want to die,” Weiss remembered telling herself when she was just a 14-year-old girl thrown into Auschwitz.

Weiss explained that most of the survivors that met up yesterday afternoon are from Mukacheve, Ukraine. Some of them were even sent to the same concentration camps. Their background and hardships have bonded this group of survivors, forming a community that cherishes each chance they get to see one another.

“This is their family,” Weiss said speaking about her fellow survivors. “These meetings are very important to us.”

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