103-year-old survivor of Spanish Flu pandemic receives COVID-19 vaccine in Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - It’s not every day that a nurse gives you a gift before stabbing you in the arm with a needle. But that’s exactly what happened to Mildred Lashover on Thursday, Jan. 14.

Lashover celebrated her 103rd birthday on Wednesday, Jan. 13.

Medical staff gathered in a small room in the COVID vaccine clinic set up at Oschner Medical Center to sing “Happy Birthday” and administer the Pfizer vaccine.

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Lashover survived the Spanish Flu pandemic and today, she was vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Looking at that big needle on the television, I said, ‘That’s going in me?’ but it was nice,” Lashover said. “They did a nice job.”

Even though it was before she received the vaccine, Lashover’s family could not let her birthday pass without a little celebration. Sunday, they held a small parade outside her Hammond home.

“Everybody passed by and blew horns, and the neighbors came out and brought me balloons,” Lashover said. “and I got gifts from people I didn’t even know.”

As of Wednesday, Jan. 13, more than 170,000 people in Louisiana have started their series of shots. Almost 31,000 have completed both rounds of the vaccination.

Mildred chose to get the vaccine because she is tired of being cooped up.

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“I want to get out of the house, and get back to normal,” she said, “going out to eat lunch and dinner with my son and daughter.”

Mildred chose to get the vaccine because she’s tired of being cooped up.

But what she is really looking forward to is everyone getting their vaccine.

“I’m looking forward to this being wiped out, and everybody getting back to normal,” she said.

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