2 sisters distanced by pandemic are brought together by vaccine in unique way

Meet two sisters who were brought together in a unique way after being separated due to the pandemic, Emma and Anya Butzer.

Both are nurses on the University of Minnesota campus, they live minutes apart and work just blocks apart. But the COVID-19 pandemic has kept them distanced.

It’s been especially challenging for 24-year-old Anya, who works in the COVID Unit at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center.

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"Just knowing I’m on the front lines working has been especially hard," Anya said. "Feeling nervous to see my family, and wondering if I might get it and spread it. I’m with COVID patients every day."

So you can imagine what it was like for her to not only get the vaccine but to also administer it to her big sister, Emma, a few weeks later. Luckily, a coworker snapped a few photos.

"We had a coworker taking our photo and I was thinking, ‘Mom and dad are going to really love this picture. Mom is going to cry when she sees this picture,’ and she did, " Emma said.

"Emma became a nurse before I did," Anya said. "I always followed in her tracks. I’ve always looked up to her, so giving her that vaccine was surreal and pretty amazing."

For more on Emma and Anya’s story, click here.