Danae Columbus photo
New Orleans East Hospital nurse Tatiana Cash prepares to administer the COVID vaccine to Isiah Steele on Jan. 5.
Amid an Epiphany Day marred by an unanticipated insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the state’s highest COVID rates, 87-year-old Isiah Steele received his long-awaited COVID-19 vaccination at New Orleans East Hospital. “I am so blessed to have gotten this vaccine,” said Steele, before lighting a candle at the Shrine of St. Jude. “I will sleep a little easier tonight.”
Steele has been locked down in his family home since mid-March, where he has fretted about his grandson, a senior soon to graduate from LSU, and his caregiver daughter, who goes to work almost every day despite the pandemic. “While I worry about their health and safety, I am mourning the loss of a year of my life at a time when I don’t have too many years left,” he said.