A New York doctor is taking well-rounded medical care to a heartwarming level. He wrote an official prescription to one of his patients, a grandmother, saying she could finally hug her granddaughter after being fully vaccinated from COVID-19.
Jessica Shaw shared a redacted image on Twitter showing the prescription which includes a handwritten note, "You are allowed to hug your granddaughter." The prescription is dated March 1, 2021 and written on official New York state prescription stationary and signed.
Dr. Laura Shaw Frank of New York City praised the gesture as both official and necessary, but called it "holistic medical care." Many have attested to how older individuals are nervous about returning to a new normalcy even after being fully vaccinated and waiting the standard couple of weeks before paring down mitigation behaviors.
Her granddaughter did just as the doctor ordered and said it had been a year since her grandmother had a hug. It was an emotional moment for all.
Major announcements in recent days are showing signs that the country is returning to a semblance of normalcy as Thursday marks one year since COVID-19 was officially declared a global pandemic.
As the Associated Press reports, the federal government has now reduced incredible stringent virus mitigation rules for nursing homes, now telling residents they can receive hugs after being fully vaccinated. Rules like wearing a mask and using hand sanitizer still apply, but it's a far cry from before when loved ones had to sit outside of nursing home windows to see loved ones behind glass.
The White House's COVID-19 response team echoed President Joe Biden's words Wednesday calling the federal vaccine roll out a "war time effort." The White House recently announced that after the FDA approved Johnson & Johnson's single does vaccine for public use, rival medical giant Merck would join the round-the-clock effort to get as many vaccine does out to American adults as possible.
The Biden administration has also said that it will be working to use the powers of the federal government to direct all U.S. states to prioritize the vaccination of teachers.