By Ethan Perelstein By the time the UK had gone under total lockdown on March 26, 2020, Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral had a full COVID-19 unit with no beds to spare, with patients dying of COVID-19 regularly. Healthcare workers were physically and mentally exhausted. Many Britons, who were at home and had no exposure to the crisis, were not aware that the war was being waged in the hospitals. Roselynn Campbell, however, did know. She worked at home, but her flatmate was a nurse in the COVID ward at Arrowe Park. “She would come home every day crying because her patients would be dying,” Roselynn said. “I had a cushy job. I’d sit at home and work in the kitchen while she would be at work doing twelve-hour shifts, exhausted with her face bruised.” These face bruises became common amongst healthcare workers who had to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and safety glasses for long shifts. By May, Roselynn had been seeing the toll that the epidemic was taking on the country. She had lost her brother to COVID-19. Then, when Roselynn got an offer to partake in the early trial stages for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, she took it. “It was kind of a non-brainer. I had seen firsthand the death,” she said. Roselynn had many great reasons to want to participate in the trial, but not all of them were personal. Roselynn at her office. Ethan Perelstein for AUBG Daily. “There was a lot of a national effort, a bit like the war in the UK. Everyone was helping everyone, volunteering. ‘Stay at home, protect the NHS’ (National Health Service) was the motto.” The COVID-19 crisis was the single greatest threat to the UK since World War II and Roselynn felt the same patriotic duty to help that Britain was famous for during the war. She was one of the first people to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. She also had to travel and give blood regularly for the study. Often she had to have her blood drawn by her housemate because there were no appointments at the hospital. When she came to Bulgaria to teach at the English Language Institute (ELI) at AUBG, she had to get one of the Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines approved by the state in order to teach. Roselynn had two Moderna COVID-19 (mRNA-1273) vaccine doses in October 2021. With five vaccinations and first hand exposure to the gravity of the pandemic situation, Roselynn is a strong advocate for the vaccine in a country whose people are highly reluctant to get it. “Just do it,” she said. “Even if it doesn’t save your life, it could save the people around you. There are some people who can’t be vaccinated, so getting vaccinated can help protect them as well.” Roselynn assures her students and her coworkers that getting the vaccine is safe. She has had two different shots five times since the beginning of the pandemic. “I am still standing,” she said. “I would rather feel ill for a few days than be one of the patients in my housemate’s hospital beds.” “As immune as she is, Roselynn has no fear licking the windows of her office at ELI.” Ethan Perelstein for AUBG Daily. 4 Fall 2021 | AUBG Daily
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