FEBRUARY 11 • 2021 | 21
CAREFUL PREPARATION
Ohren said the OCHD has
been great to work with, and
JFS helped educate them on
what they would be dealing
with before they arrived.
“We created an interesting
flyer on the concept of trau-
ma-informed care, to think
about what it might be like for
a survivor to have to stand in
line, to smell something, to
have somebody come at them
with a needle,
” Ohren said.
“We did a mini-crash course
so the folks who are vaccinat-
ing have a sense of who the
main audience is that they’re
vaccinating.
”
Oakland County Medical
Director Dr. Russell Faust was
leading the charge at the clinic
and said he believes it’s owed
to the most vulnerable to get
them protected.
“We’re trying to get every
dose into as many arms as
possible, so I think it’s import-
ant that we get out and vac-
cinate the most vulnerable in
our community, and certainly
Holocaust survivors, based on
age alone, meet that criteria,
”
Faust said.
While Zydower and
Lindemann didn’t mention
any similarities between the
pandemic or vaccinations
with the Holocaust, Missy
Lewin, JFS’s director of
Holocaust Survivor Services,
has seen survivors respond on
both ends of the spectrum.
“We see people who feel
cooped up again, and it’s start-
ing to trigger them of those
memories they have, and
then we’re also seeing people
who are saying ‘this isn’t the
Holocaust, we know we’re
going to be safe and we’re able
to get out’ — so we’re really
seeing both extremes,
” Lewin
said.
“We know so many things
can be triggering for them,
especially coming here today
with medical personnel, so
we really tried to prep for
that and walk the survivors
through that.
”
The survivors received the
Moderna vaccine and will
receive the second shot on
March 1 to avoid doing it on
the four-week anniversary
Feb. 26, which is Purim.
There is a tentative plan for
another clinic, in collabora-
tion between Jewish Senior
Life and JFS. This would be in
February, limited to survivors
and their spouses. Details are
still in the works.
‘NO PROBLEM’
Zoltan Rubin, 102, of
Farmington Hills, born in
Czechoslovakia, was among
those receiving the first dose
as well.
“Perfect. Couldn’t be better,
no problem,
” Rubin said after
injection.
“I hope it helps. I hope
this vaccination will stop this
unusual thing which is a trag-
edy for the whole world.
”
Rubin, who comes from a
family of 11 siblings, said he
lost all but two brothers to the
Holocaust.
Speaking on how he’s
dealt with the isolation
and consequences of the
pandemic, Rubin said he’s
lucky that he has his daughter
to help him, but otherwise it’s
very hard.
“I think God is trying to
show people they have to
believe in something, and
people should realize they’re
here only on borrowed time,
they’re not here forever, and
they should always consider
their behavior toward other
people around them and all
over the world,
” Rubin said.
“We should realize we are
here because we are allowed
to be here.
”