Nancy is originally from Mexico, but has lived in United States most of her life. After spending about a year in Oregon working as a nurse in a McMinnville assisted living facility, she moved to Illinois with her husband where she continues to help seniors with their daily care.

Due to her line of work, Nancy was eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in February 2021 and as soon as she learned that the vaccine was available to her, she did not hesitate to get it.

“I wanted to go back to normal life, protect myself, protect my family and the people I work with,” said Nancy. “I knew that the vaccine was going to help my community return to normalcy and protect my patients. I did not want them to get sick because of me.”

Nancy knew she also wanted to start a family, so she took the time to chat with her doctor and search the internet for information about COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy.

“I was confident that my doctor knew what he was talking about when he told me that the vaccine was not going cause an infertility problem,” said Nancy. “I also read accredited articles from the CDC and WHO and knew that getting the vaccine was the right decision.”

Nancy felt pain in her arm after getting vaccinated but did not experience any other side effects. On the contrary, she felt safe knowing that she was protected against COVID-19.

Nancy is now five months pregnant and both she and her baby are healthy. Sometimes, Nancy hears family or friends in the United States and Mexico talk about the misinformation surrounding vaccines and infertility.

“It makes me very angry when I hear this because I know it is false and people share it as if it were real,” said Nancy. “I want to tell people to put their trust in their doctor, ask questions of professionals who know about COVID-19, and do their own research on reputable sources of information. That helped me a lot to know that is real and is just a rumor”.

Vaccines are safe and the most effective way to protect us against serious illness and hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Find more information and a vaccine site near you today by visiting our Find a COVID-19 Vaccine in Oregon web page.