London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Nov 15, 2025

Great-great gran, 105, says she beat Covid by eating 'gin-soaked raisins'

Great-great gran, 105, says she beat Covid by eating 'gin-soaked raisins'

An 105-year-old nursing home resident says she managed to overcome Covid-19 by eating nine gin-soaked raisins per day and ‘no junk food’.

Lucia DeClerck tested positive for coronavirus on her birthday, just one day after her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Early data is showing the jab is 80-90% effective after the first shot and 95.8% after the second, meaning there was still a small window for her to catch the bug.

Despite being considered high risk due to her age, Lucia didn’t show any serious symptoms.

After two weeks of isolation she was back in her room, clutching her rosary beads and wearing her signature knitted hat and sunglasses.

Studies have shown that one shot of the Pfizer vaccine is 62% effective at preventing severe disease, with that number rising to 92% after two doses.

But Lucia, who lives at Mystic Meadows nursing home in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, has credited her long and healthy life to ‘prayer, prayer, prayer’ and ‘no junk food’.

Another one of her secrets of survival is the nine gin soaked raisins she eats every single morning.

The great-great grandmother of 11 tested positive for Covid-19 on her 105th birthday


She told the New York Times: ‘Fill a jar. Nine raisins a day after it sits for nine days.’

Her children and grandchildren describe her as a ‘health freak’ with a few other lifelong habits, including drinking a homemade concoction of aloe vera juice, apple cider vinegar, ginger, and ‘a little bit of gin’ every day.

Lucia claims she’s managed to keep all of her original teeth by brushing them with baking soda every day, and in fairness to her, she only had her first cavity at 99 years old.

Her 53-year-old granddaughter Shawn Laws O’Neil said: ‘We would just think, “Grandma, what are you doing? You’re crazy.”

‘Now the laugh is on us. She has beaten everything that’s come her way.

‘She is just the epitome of perseverance. Her mind is so sharp. She will remember things when I was a kid that I don’t even remember.’

Lucia was a ‘little scared’ about going into isolation but insisted ‘God will protect me’


Lucia was born in Maui, Hawaii, in 1916 to a Guatemalan mother and Spanish father.

She was just two years old when the Spanish Flu outbreak hit, meaning she has lived through two pandemics, two world wars and the deaths of three husbands and a son.

After her 90th birthday Lucia moved into an adult community in Manahawkin, along the Jersey Shore.

She remained incredibly active there until she suffered a fall on Christmas Day 2017 and moved to Mystic Meadows, where she is the oldest resident.

Lucia has survived lived through two world wars, two pandemics and the deaths of three husbands


Lucia is one of the nursing home’s 62 residents to contract Covid-19 – four of whom died including three who were receiving hospice care.

Mystic Meadows administrator Michael Neiman said Lucia – a devout Catholic – was a ‘little scared’ when she first had her diagnosis but insisted that ‘God will protect me’.

Now her two surviving sons, five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren have nicknamed her ‘The 105-year-old badass who kicked Covid.’

Lucia’s family say they are postponing her 105th birthday celebrations until the pandemic is over.

But in the meantime they are ‘rushing out and getting mason jars’ to fill with gin-soaked raisins to ‘catch-up’ with the health-conscious centenarian.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Upholds Firm Rules on Stablecoins to Shield Financial System
Brussels Divided as UK-EU Reset Stalls Over Budget Access
Prince Harry’s Remembrance Day Essay Expresses Strong Regret at Leaving Britain
UK Unemployment Hits 5% as Wage Growth Slows, Paving Way for Bank of England Rate Cut
Starmer Warns of Resurgent Racism in UK Politics as He Vows Child-Poverty Reforms
UK Grocery Inflation Slows to 4.7% as Supermarkets Launch Pre-Christmas Promotions
UK Government Backs the BBC amid Editing Scandal and Trump Threat of Legal Action
UK Assessment Mis-Estimated Fallout From Palestine Action Ban, Records Reveal
UK Halts Intelligence Sharing with US Amid Lethal Boat-Strike Concerns
King Charles III Leads Britain in Remembrance Sunday Tribute to War Dead
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows as Households Hold Back Ahead of Black Friday and Budget
Shell Pulls Out of Two UK Floating Wind Projects Amid Renewables Retreat
Viagogo Hit With £15 Million Tax Bill After HMRC Transfer-Pricing Inquiry
Jaguar Land Rover Cyberattack Pinches UK GDP, Bank of England Says
UK and Germany Sound Alarm on Russian-Satellite Threat to Critical Infrastructure
Former Prince Andrew Faces U.S. Congressional Request for Testimony Amid Brexit of Royal Title
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness Resign Amid Editing Controversy
Tom Cruise Arrives by Helicopter at UK Scientology Fundraiser Amid Local Protests
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Face Fresh UK Probes Amid Royal Fallout
Mothers Link Teen Suicides to AI Chatbots in Growing Legal Battle
UK Government to Mirror Denmark’s Tough Immigration Framework in Major Policy Shift
UK Government Turns to Denmark-Style Immigration Reforms to Overhaul Border Rules
UK Chancellor Warned Against Cutting Insulation Funding as Budget Looms
UK Tenant Complaints Hit Record Levels as Rental Sector Faces Mounting Pressure
Apple to Pay Google About One Billion Dollars Annually for Gemini AI to Power Next-Generation Siri
UK Signals Major Shift as Nuclear Arms Race Looms
BBC’s « Celebrity Traitors UK » Finale Breaks Records with 11.1 Million Viewers
UK Spy Case Collapse Highlights Implications for UK-Taiwan Strategic Alignment
On the Road to the Oscars? Meghan Markle to Star in a New Film
A Vote Worth a Trillion Dollars: Elon Musk’s Defining Day
AI Researchers Claim Human-Level General Intelligence Is Already Here
President Donald Trump Challenges Nigeria with Military Options Over Alleged Christian Killings
Nancy Pelosi Finally Announces She Will Not Seek Re-Election, Signalling End of Long Congressional Career
UK Pre-Budget Blues and Rate-Cut Concerns Pile Pressure on Pound
ITV Warns of Nine-Per-Cent Drop in Q4 Advertising Revenue Amid Budget Uncertainty
National Grid Posts Slightly Stronger-Than-Expected Half-Year Profit as Regulatory Investments Drive Growth
UK Business Lobby Urges Reeves to Break Tax Pledges and Build Fiscal Headroom
UK to Launch Consultation on Stablecoin Regulation on November 10
UK Savers Rush to Withdraw Pension Cash Ahead of Budget Amid Tax-Change Fears
Massive Spoilers Emerge from MAFS UK 2025: Couple Swaps, Dating App Leaks and Reunion Bombshells
Kurdish-led Crime Network Operates UK Mini-Marts to Exploit Migrants and Sell Illicit Goods
UK Income Tax Hike Could Trigger £1 Billion Cut to Scotland’s Budget, Warns Finance Secretary
Tommy Robinson Acquitted of Terror-related Charge After Phone PIN Dispute
Boris Johnson Condemns Western Support for Hamas at Jewish Community Conference
HII Welcomes UK’s Westley Group to Strengthen AUKUS Submarine Supply Chain
Tragedy in Serbia: Coach Mladen Žižović Collapses During Match and Dies at 44
Diplo Says He Dated Katy Perry — and Justin Trudeau
Dick Cheney, Former U.S. Vice President, Dies at 84
Trump Calls Title Removal of Andrew ‘Tragic Situation’ Amid Royal Fallout
UK Bonds Rally as Chancellor Reeves Briefs Markets Ahead of November Budget
×