A Nanaimo senior who was born during the Spanish flu pandemic is about to get his first dose of vaccine during another pandemic more than 100 years later.
Victor Osborne, 102, was on the phone early Monday morning to ensure he was in line for some of the first COVID-19 immunizations available to seniors 90-plus. His appointment is scheduled for Monday, March 15, in the afternoon.
Osborne said he started calling the Island Health vaccination appointment number about two minutes before the lines opened at 7 a.m.
91裸聊视频淚 was two and a half hours on the phone91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Osborne said. 91裸聊视频淚 was sure they were going to take me in that day. I finally got through. I was dialling that number. It was lousy. I finally got someone to answer.91裸聊视频�
Osborne isn91裸聊视频檛 a stranger to new vaccines. He was 16 and serving aboard the Royal Navy91裸聊视频檚 HMS Hood in the mid-1930s when he saw a post asking for volunteers for trials to test the effects of poison gas, which involved exposure to skin of the trial participant91裸聊视频檚 arms, and for the trial of the influenza A vaccine. Influenza A, according to information from the Mayo Clinic, is a sub type of H1N1, the virus responsible for the Spanish flu pandemic.
91裸聊视频淚 was on board the battle cruiser Hood as a boy seaman,91裸聊视频� Osborne said. 91裸聊视频淚 saw the notice up on the notice board 91裸聊视频� this is about 1934 or 91裸聊视频�35 91裸聊视频� and then following the notice there was another note [that read] if you went for this poison gas test on one arm and another poison gas test on the other arm, each test would get five days91裸聊视频� leave, so naturally, I wanted to go home on leave.91裸聊视频�
So Osborne volunteered for the trials.
91裸聊视频淲ell, lo and behold, I got the bloody flu and I wound up in the naval hospital for 10 days and it was really violent,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 was looking at the pictures on the wall in the hospital and it just looked like mud.91裸聊视频�
To add insult to injury, when Osborne returned to his ship and reported to his duty officer, he was denied his leave, in spite of being in the hospital for 10 days.
91裸聊视频淗e said you were absent from place of duty. You91裸聊视频檙e not going to get any leave,91裸聊视频� Osborne said.
Osborne transferred off HMS Hood to a New Zealand ship in 1937, about three years before it was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck during the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941.
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As for getting the shot against COVID-19, Osborne said he doesn91裸聊视频檛 have any concerns.
91裸聊视频淚 feel OK,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚n the navy we get lots of shots. Yellow fever, you name it, but we didn91裸聊视频檛 have any choice and we had to take medication against malaria when I was out in Burma. You didn91裸聊视频檛 have any choice. They just did you whenever they wanted to.91裸聊视频�
Once again, Osborne found out he won91裸聊视频檛 have a choice about which vaccine he91裸聊视频檒l be inoculated with.
91裸聊视频淚 told them when I was speaking to them yesterday, 91裸聊视频楧o you mind giving me that one shot? I91裸聊视频檝e been waiting this long and I91裸聊视频檇 like to live a bit longer,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淸They said], 91裸聊视频楴o, you91裸聊视频檒l have to take whatever they give you.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
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