It's Worth A Shot - Teacher Knows What It's Like To Have COVID-19

MALVERN - In mid-March 2020, Morgan Heard, a teacher at East Mills Elementary, felt the uncertainty a lot of others did when the school year came to an unexpected halt. She spent the last two months of the 2019-20 school year putting together worksheets and coming up with new learning opportunities her students could do at home.

“I was worried where my students were going to be and worried about my family and if anyone would get sick,” Heard said.

Teachers and students returned to their classrooms in August 2020 for the start of a school year that would be like no other. COVID-19 activity in Mills County peaked in November and Heard found out in mid December that she had contracted the virus.

She had strong COVID symptoms from Dec. 15 through the end of 2020. She ran a fever for nearly 11 days straight.
“At one point, my oxygen level got down to 90 and my parents said if it went any lower, I would need to go to the hospital,” she recalled.

Although Christmas had to be spent in quarantine, her family was a strong support system, bringing her and her husband food and other groceries as needed.

Heard was over the virus when the COVID-19 vaccine became available to educators in February, although she had not yet reached the recommended 90 days since getting the negative test result that showed she had overcome the virus. After consulting with her physician, she elected to get the vaccine. It was unknown at the time how long she would have to wait if she didn’t get vaccinated during the clinic set up by Mills County Public Health  for Mills County teachers.

“I got the vaccine 63 days after I had COVID,” said Heard. “It was in that time-frame where they weren’t sure how the vaccine might affect me as far as side effects.”

Yet, she decided to get vaccinated.

My doctor told me I should get it (the vaccine), because if I got COVID again, it would be really bad.”

Heard received the Morderna vaccine along with many other school employees in Mills County.

Teaching during the pandemic has been ‘very interesting’ she says. There were reminders of having to keep masks on, keeping socially distanced and practicing thorough and frequent hygiene.

There were a lot of hours after school cleaning and sanitizing her classroom.

In addition to teaching, Heard is also a photographer along with her husband, Alex. They had several engagement and wedding photo shoots scheduled in 2020, but the coronavirus turned the wedding season upside down.

“A lot of weddings got pushed to 2022 or they all got pushed to the late part of the 2020,” she said.
With restrictions potentially changing day-to-day, couples getting married may not have been sure how many guests were allowed to attend until days beforehand.

“The very last wedding last year could only have 35 guests.”

Heard picked up many new hobbies during the shutdown last year that included re-editing all of her old photos, making earrings from yarn and making shirts and signs with a new Cricut.
Occasionally, her husband would come home thinking he was in the wrong house, as she had re-arranged or painted another room.

“I can’s sit still,” she joked. “I re-did the house in some places.”

To those hesitant about getting the vaccine, Heard says that you should just do it.

“Herd immunity only works if enough of us get it,” she said. “I have family and students that are immune - compromised.

“It’s not like what you see on social media where you’re going to turn into a zombie or can’t become pregnant. It’s not true. You’ll feel more protected, you feel stronger. You feel more confident. You’re doing what’s best, not just for you, but for everybody else around you and putting others before yourself. My mother has multiple sclerosis and got the shot. Most of the teachers I know got the shot so that we could stay face-to-face in school.”