Mônica Calazans says she died more than once in the last year. On one occasion, the 55-year-old nurse was returning to her home in the Itaquera neighborhood of São Paulo, when she heard from an application driver that the first person vaccinated against Covid in Brazil passed away.
She was the first to receive a dose, from Coronavac. In another, she had to send a photo as proof of life to a journalist.
Nurse at the ICU of the Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas, Mônica was immunized on January 17, 2021.
She was also the target of racist attacks after the national projection. "But I don't care," she says. "I think I, as a black woman, am playing a beautiful role."
Mônica says entering 2022 more relieved in relation to the pandemic, although she believes that it will not be possible to let down her guard. "I hope the people get vaccinated so that we can return to our normal lives."
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon