My younger sister and I have a lot in common.

We are both long-winded and gesture dramatically when we speak. We’re patient listeners and inveterate advice-givers. We tilt toward skepticism, and cling stubbornly to our beliefs.

And that has brought us to a rare impasse, on the issue of COVID-19 vaccines.

I have been celebrating since February when I got my first shot of the Moderna vaccine at a San Fernando Valley park. My sister Anita in Cleveland has spent the months since then worrying about me.

Ever since COVID-19 vaccines became a reality, she’s been poring over articles and social media posts about hypothetical harms that most scientists debunk. That left her determined to shun the vaccine — and afraid for me to get my next shot.

“I love my sister the way she is,” she emailed me three months ago. “And I shudder to think of you having some long-term reaction to this vaccine that could have been avoided. While you are well, I say stay well!”

She followed up with research on natural immune boosters, such as vitamin D. I added that to my health regimen, but refused to even consider skipping my final dose of the vaccine.

“I appreciate the sentiment and respect your skepticism,” I wrote back. “But living here in Los Angeles, I’m more likely to die of COVID than to wind up with some weird vaccine reaction.”