103-Year-Old Los Gatos Resident Receives Second COVID Vaccination

SANTA CLARA, CA — Emil Hopner, a 103-year-old Los Gatos resident who has survived the Holocaust, two world wars and now two pandemics, received his second COVID-19 vaccine dose on Wednesday at Levi’s Stadium and said he feels “in good shape.”

“I feel very good,” Hopner said after he received the shot, via audio from pool reporters. “I’m so happy that I got protection.”

Hopner, who is Jewish, lost 30 family members during the Holocaust, including his parents, crossed borders to evade the Nazis and lived through the Spanish Flu. Hopner moved to Los Gatos in 1956 and worked at IBM until retiring in 1987, according to a Mercury News story written when Hopner reached the century mark in 2017.

“I thank God every day that at 103, I’m still in good shape,” Hopner said. “Because my wife takes care of me every day. She’s a piece of gold. She’s wonderful.”

Hopner arrived at Levi’s Stadium’s mass vaccination site on Wednesday evening in a wheelchair and was helped by his son, Ben, into the stadium where he was given a second dose of immunity against the second pandemic of his lifetime.

“I’m thankful for health,” Hopner said.