C.J. is a recently divorced 38-year-old mother “going through a lot of stuff.” I hadn’t seen her since the start of the pandemic. Entering the exam room, I saw her, and she was wearing a hat, two face masks, and oversized plastic gloves—at least she wore designer sunglasses. I was a little taken aback and asked if she was OK. She blurted out that she had received both vaccine doses, but she has a 7-year-old that she needs to protect.
Sadly, I’ve seen way too many patients like C.J. this past year. Fear has taken over their lives. It didn’t matter how well I explained that her fears—while understandable with all the media hype—were irrational. They were only irrational to me. To her, they were rational. I get that.
