I’ve Seen Enough: Get the Vaccine
January 25, 2021
By Sister Karen Schneider, M.D.
On December 14, one of the sisters at the Convent of Mercy motherhouse in Philadelphia tested positive for COVID-19. Seventy-seven sisters live in the house and, until that day, for them, coronavirus was that disease out there. Many lives, including mine, changed in that moment.

I serve as a pediatric emergency room physician at Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital in Baltimore, and every time I work a shift there, I am exposed to coronavirus. Thus far, I’ve managed to dodge the bullet. Since I know how to wear PPE (personal protective equipment), I was asked that night in Philadelphia to help transport the covid-positive sister to a clinic where she could obtain a potentially life-saving antibody infusion. A snowstorm was predicted, so I was told to pack an overnight bag, just in case. I expected to stay one night; 26 days later, I returned home.
On day three, more sisters were identified as having symptoms; on day four, it was four sisters. On day five, we obtained tests and nasal swabbed all 75 sisters and 20 staff. On day seven, we got the results: Six sisters tested positive—the four we expected and two we didn’t.
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