People in this N.C. county aren't getting the COVID-19 shot -- and are proud of it [View all]

WHITEVILLE — For months, Earl Nealey laughed off COVID-19, resisting pressure to get vaccinated, telling the world protection doesn’t come from a syringe.

But his Whiteville pharmacist kept after him, and on Thursday, Angela Soles finally broke through Nealey’s stubborn hide. She arranged free vaccines inside Guiton’s Drug Store — a pharmacy so old-school it still serves orangeade at a soda fountain. And 30 seconds after Nealey sat down for his jab, he looked and asked, “That’s it?”

“I’ve got the Lord with me,” said Nealy, 59. “I ain’t worried about it. But everybody’s saying, if I did get it, I won’t end up on a respirator. So I’m here today and now everybody can leave me alone.”

Nealey’s shot was the 38th given at Guiton’s on Thursday, a triumphant dent in the pandemic considering that Columbus County owns the state’s highest rate for COVID-19 and one of the lowest for vaccinations.

Read more: https://greensboro.com/news/state-and-regional/people-in-this-n-c-county-arent-getting-the-covid-19-shot-and-are-proud/article_226030e3-fede-5513-906a-d601c3fb1f37.html
(Greensboro News & Record)