Dear Prudence,
For the past year, I have been acting as the caretaker to my elderly parents, who are in poor health. This has been very stressful, as I have had to be exceedingly careful about my COVID risk, often going far beyond the precautions the general public has to take. I was thrilled last week when I was able to make an appointment to receive my first vaccine for the virus. I shared the news with an old college friend I’ve reconnected with during the pandemic. Her reaction was not what I expected. She accused me of only wanting to go to sex resorts and blamed me for taking vaccines away from “African American grandmothers.” (My friend is white.) I know this is hard for her, as she has been battling a medical condition that is not recognized by many doctors and does not qualify her for the vaccine. But now she is threatening to expose me on social media, saying that I do not need to be vaccinated and am only getting it in order to behave irresponsibly. (It’s true that we’ve had text exchanges where I talk about wanting to eat in restaurants and go to the movies; my friend has always said she will continue to avoid those things.) I don’t want to cancel my appointment, which has been a lifeline for me. But I also don’t want to “go viral.” What should I do?
—Friend Doesn’t Want Me Getting Vaccinated