Nurses are leading the way in getting the vaccine. As more and more people get vaccinated, we are closer to being able to return to a more normal life, protecting ourselves, our families and the economy.
Nurses as a group lead the way in getting vaccines. Although some still hesitate—particularly outpatient nurses—as a group, professional nurses continue to set an example of willingness to combat the epidemic by getting vaccinated themselves. Statistics are still being gathered but in March 2021, 64% of hospital nurses were already vaccinated. The effort to get that number to 100% is underway. How can we help our peers and our patients who hesitate about getting the vaccine?
Going the Extra Mile
Nurses have been heroes every step of the way. Nurse Vaccinator Jaquelyn Chartier stated in a New York Times article, “I saw on the news they were going to roll out these mass vaccination sites but they needed nurses because they were short. And I was, like, I gotta go. I gotta go help.” Her spirit echoes the voices and actions of so many nurses who have stepped up to the plate and gone the extra miles to help conquer this pandemic.
Working in health care, many of us have seen the worst of COVID: patients struggling to breathe, suffering a variety of maladies, and some even becoming “long haulers” finding themselves besieged by symptoms months after the disease should have packed up and left their bodies. Countering that are the 80% of people who have symptom-less or mild symptom infections of COVID-19 and recuperate uneventfully and quickly. The two extremes are hard to reconcile. We continue to have a lack of current science about what makes one person get acutely ill and another barely suffer a sneeze. Because of these disparities, we hear divided reports—everything from doomsday reports to a fantasy of denial. As nurses, we are sometimes stuck in between trying to educate people, help them understand, and lead by example.
Vaccine Risks vs. Deadly Virus Risks
The fact that vaccines have some degree of inherent risk is well-known and undisputed. But this risk must be weighed against the potentially much greater risk of severe illness from contracting this coronavirus. With a mortality of 1% (this number is still being determined), it is much deadlier than the flu (<0.1%), even after we have had over a year to develop strategies to treat it. All of us know of stories of young, healthy men and women becoming gravely ill, ending up on a ventilator and dying. Our stories in this country are numerous, but in other countries, the situation is becoming even direr. Globally, the pandemic has been devastating.
The risk of getting the vaccine is extremely small. Not getting the vaccine is also a calculated risk. It is important to understand this and to encourage our patients to consider that they are still taking a risk when they choose not to be vaccinated. The recent pause in the administration of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine was due to blood clots in 6 persons out of 6.8 million (1/100th of the risk of getting struck by lightning).
Misinformation
Misinformation and outright lies about the vaccine are plentiful for those who are willing to read it and give it credence. The internet has an overabundance of bogus “information” about vaccines going into your DNA. “The truth is that the vaccines cannot modify anything in your embryo or your child.”
Miraculous Preparation for Such a Time as This
The scientific literature describing the development of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines with mRNA is fascinating and reads like something out of the future. The men and women scientists who were able to rapidly develop these vaccines for COVID-19 did not come upon this technology overnight. It had been in development for a number of years and was miraculously ready just when it was needed. According to associate scientist Katherine Calhoun, “Rarely do you work on something in the lab and go home and turn on your TV and see the top 10 headlines are about the thing that you were working on today.” The miraculous preparedness of the scientific community “For such a time as this” seems to have escaped our imaginations during the crisis of COVID-19. It may be time for us to step back and reflect on how fortunate we are that events in the cosmos came together to give us these tools to combat the infection.
Senior scientist Amy Barnes who is part of the development team for the Pfizer vaccine states: “This kind of reminds me of September 11th. It’s that same feeling of What were you doing at the time?”
Prevention - the Best Treatment
Prevention is the best treatment we have for COVID-19. Vaccines are our best hope for staying safe, keeping our families and patients safe, and preserving the economy. Like most viruses, it mutates and this one spreads aggressively. We have a short window of time to poke holes in its armor and then watch it crumble. If we work together, we can make it happen!
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
16 minutes ago, MelodyNelson said:
Their body, their choice. It's not for me to tell my peers what to do with their body. And if anyone tried to tell me what to do with my body, I would tell them to mind their own business.
Public health is more than individual choice, surely you've noticed that before now. Do you spend much of your time concerned that a peer is going to tell you what to do with your body? That seems like more of a personal issue than a broad concern.
BTW, does your current employer require proof of any vaccinations or a negative TB test for staff? Did you have to prove that you didn't put nicotine or cannabis into your own body for your employer? Maybe you told them to mind their own business...
What goes on between me, my employer and my health care provider is personal. So is what goes on between my peers, their hiring authority and their healthcare provider. It is not for me to pressure anybody to do anything. I am not concerned about a peer telling me anything about any decisions for my body, because I know the conversation would end really fast with them being redirected to their own lane. I don't discuss my personal healthcare with anyone that is not on my care team, or needs to know. My peers do NOT need to know. I certainly do not need to know their personal situation either. The public is made of individuals. Each person can decide how to take care of themselves and what they are willing to do or not for the "greater good", while I would educate a patient, my peers are NOT my patients. I will never put pressure on any of my peers to do anything that involves their own health care or bodily autonomy.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
4 hours ago, MelodyNelson said:
Their body, their choice. It's not for me to tell my peers what to do with their body. And if anyone tried to tell me what to do with my body, I would tell them to mind their own business.
What about your patients right to not catch a highly contagious disease from you?
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
3 hours ago, MelodyNelson said:
What goes on between me, my employer and my health care provider is personal. So is what goes on between my peers, their hiring authority and their healthcare provider. It is not for me to pressure anybody to do anything. I am not concerned about a peer telling me anything about any decisions for my body, because I know the conversation would end really fast with them being redirected to their own lane. I don't discuss my personal healthcare with anyone that is not on my care team, or needs to know. My peers do NOT need to know. I certainly do not need to know their personal situation either. The public is made of individuals. Each person can decide how to take care of themselves and what they are willing to do or not for the "greater good", while I would educate a patient, my peers are NOT my patients. I will never put pressure on any of my peers to do anything that involves their own health care or bodily autonomy.
Who is pressuring you to pressure anyone? Your unvaccinated peers are not a problem for you if you are vaccinated. Public health recommendations indicate that if your peers are not vaccinated they should mask. Whether or not they are honest about that is your employer's problem, not yours.
So, why are you feeling pressured to pressure your peers?
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
Wonderful photo essay of Tarik Khan MSN, RN, FNP-BC CRNP who works in a Federally Qualified Community Health Center, meeting the needs of COVID vaccines for homebound Philadelphians. Providing tons of education, not all homebound accepting vaccine, most willing to receive "the shot". He was elected President of PA State Nurses Assoc. (PSNA) fall 2020.
Nurse practitioner Tarik Khan takes his clinic's leftover vaccine doses — which expire several hours after a vial is opened — and rushes across the city to give them to homebound individuals before time runs out.
Specializes in Educator, COVID Paperwork Expert (self-taught).
On 5/14/2021 at 2:53 PM, macawake said:
If a patient declines medications and treatment or eats an unhealthy diet, that will only affect their own health. So it’s quite obviously their decision. The same goes for smoking as long as they don’t smoke in public areas where smoking isn’t permitted.
Vaccines are different. They don’t only protect the individual. They also protect the herd. Unless we’ve chosen to permanently live in the isolated wilderness, we have made a choice to be a part of society. The question is what obligations do each of us have towards the rest of society?
We do a lot of things for the greater good. Most of us won’t drive 110 mph on 45 mph roads during rush hour. Why? Perhaps some will only refrain because they don’t want a ticket or a prison sentence or don’t want to risk injuring themselves, but I think for the majority it’s because they realize that it would be dangerous and they’d risk maiming or killing other people.
For me personally since I trust the science behind the vaccines and my ability to find and analyze the relavant facts, taking the vaccine becomes as easy as not driving 100 miles per hour past the local school.
I disagree. How many nurses and health care workers and family members have been injured when they try to assist/move patients who are overweight? How many health care workers/family members have been hurt, physically, mentally, emotionally when patients refuse to take their medications? How many patients have been hurt, or not received optimal care, when their nurse is overweight and can't do all that is needed to care for them? How many patients have not gotten the care they deserve when a nurse who smokes is out on her umpteenth smoke break of the day? (know I'm stepping on some toes here... and I also know and have worked with amazing nurses who may be overweight and/or smoke!! but if we are honest, we all know nurses who take multiple smoke breaks and are not able to fully perform their jobs due to weight.)
And I am perfectly capable of analyzing relevant facts too...just because we have come to different conclusions doesn't mean one of us is wrong.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
12 minutes ago, love2banurse89 said:
I am perfectly capableof analyzing relevant facts too...just because we have come to different conclusions doesn't mean one of us is wrong.
Then explain how the conclusion about not vaccinating is not "wrong" when there are no contraindications. Explain that science. I'm pretty certain that if someone told you that they don't believe that it's important to wash their hands in an effort to protect themselves amd others from disease that you wouldn't simply accept that as correct and acceptable for a health professional.
Or would you?
You are entitled to the opinion but I'm not obligated to pretend like it's a science or fact based choice that doesn't endanger yourself and others who may not have the luxury of choice when it comes to vaccines.
I disagree. How many nurses and health care workers and family members have been injured when they try to assist/move patients who are overweight? How many health care workers/family members have been hurt, physically, mentally, emotionally when patients refuse to take their medications? How many patients have been hurt, or not received optimal care, when their nurse is overweight and can't do all that is needed to care for them? How many patients have not gotten the care they deserve when a nurse who smokes is out on her umpteenth smoke break of the day? (know I'm stepping on some toes here... and I also know and have worked with amazing nurses who may be overweight and/or smoke!! but if we are honest, we all know nurses who take multiple smoke breaks and are not able to fully perform their jobs due to weight.)
I wasn’t really expecting a reply after two months. I read your post but I really don’t understand the point you’re trying to make here. To me, it’s pretzel-shaped logic. Is your point that because human beings have a right to choose to eat until they’re extremely overweight and that might make a nurse hurt her or his back when the overeater becomes a patient.. then nurses should also have the right to to make the choice to not vaccinate against an infectious disease? Does it mean that it makessense for a nurse to not protect themselves, their loved ones, their patients and the general public against an infectious disease? Whatare you arguing?
When I said that vaccines are different in that they don’t only affect one person’s health but also the health of the herd, I think you know exactly what I meant. You posted that you are an Infection Control nurse so I must assume that you do understand the concept of vaccines and herd immunity.
Listing a bunch of scenarios that might or might not occur if a person doesn’t take their medications, want the recommended treatment or make healthy choices doesn’t really have much to do with protecting the society thatyouareapartof and help end the pandemic.
If you want to get all philosophical and discuss hypothetical effects of various actions or inactions, I guess we might as well start by discussing the Butterfly Effect ?
On 7/12/2021 at 5:06 PM, love2banurse89 said:
And I am perfectly capable of analyzing relevant facts too...just because we have come to different conclusions doesn't mean one of us is wrong.
Well, this depends on what your goal or desire is. My hope/goal is that we will slow down the spread of Covid-19 globally. Too many people are suffering. Too many people are dying. I also don’t want any person I love or care about to get sick, when we have effective vaccines available that can protect them. I want to see as few patients with severe Covid-19 infections in my hospital as possible. I don’t want to be the one who infects another person, a person who might be more vulnerable than I am. I don’t particularly want the ? for myself either. I also really, really want to slow down this damn pandemic before we run out of letters in the Greek alphabet.
If that’s what you want as well than yes, your decision to not get vaccinated (assuming you don’t have any absolute contraindication) is actually the wrong decision. Every individual who makes the choice to not vaccinate, makes it just a little bit harder to reach the point where we manage to slow down the spread of the virus. And people will die as a consequence.
I’m sorry for harping on about your status as an Infection Control nurse, but how can you work in that position and not advocate for vaccines? I simply don’t understand that.
I’ve written in another one of these Covid threads that on my unit slightly over 98% of staff are vaccinated. It’s entirely voluntary but it was such a no-brainer decision among the people I work with (nurses and physicians), that it’s just hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that there are healthcare professionals who don’t see the personal and public health benefits of vaccines.
It seems like the surveyed physicians in the following link have a very similar vaccination rate as my coworkers and really, it’s in the ballpark range that I’d expect from people with medical training.
Specializes in Educator, COVID Paperwork Expert (self-taught).
4 hours ago, macawake said:
I wasn’t really expecting a reply after two months. I read your post but I really don’t understand the point you’re trying to make here. To me, it’s pretzel-shaped logic. Is your point that because human beings have a right to choose to eat until they’re extremely overweight and that might make a nurse hurt her or his back when the overeater becomes a patient.. then nurses should also have the right to to make the choice to not vaccinate against an infectious disease? Does it mean that it makessense for a nurse to not protect themselves, their loved ones, their patients and the general public against an infectious disease? Whatare you arguing?
When I said that vaccines are different in that they don’t only affect one person’s health but also the health of the herd, I think you know exactly what I meant. You posted that you are an Infection Control nurse so I must assume that you do understand the concept of vaccines and herd immunity.
Listing a bunch of scenarios that might or might not occur if a person doesn’t take their medications, want the recommended treatment or make healthy choices doesn’t really have much to do with protecting the society thatyouareapartof and help end the pandemic.
If you want to get all philosophical and discuss hypothetical effects of various actions or inactions, I guess we might as well start by discussing the Butterfly Effect ?
Well, this depends on what your goal or desire is. My hope/goal is that we will slow down the spread of Covid-19 globally. Too many people are suffering. Too many people are dying. I also don’t want any person I love or care about to get sick, when we have effective vaccines available that can protect them. I want to see as few patients with severe Covid-19 infections in my hospital as possible. I don’t want to be the one who infects another person, a person who might be more vulnerable than I am. I don’t particularly want the ? for myself either. I also really, really want to slow down this damn pandemic before we run out of letters in the Greek alphabet.
If that’s what you want as well than yes, your decision to not get vaccinated (assuming you don’t have any absolute contraindication) is actually the wrong decision. Every individual who makes the choice to not vaccinate, makes it just a little bit harder to reach the point where we manage to slow down the spread of the virus. And people will die as a consequence.
I’m sorry for harping on about your status as an Infection Control nurse, but how can you work in that position and not advocate for vaccines? I simply don’t understand that.
I’ve written in another one of these Covid threads that on my unit slightly over 98% of staff are vaccinated. It’s entirely voluntary but it was such a no-brainer decision among the people I work with (nurses and physicians), that it’s just hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that there are healthcare professionals who don’t see the personal and public health benefits of vaccines.
It seems like the surveyed physicians in the following link have a very similar vaccination rate as my coworkers and really, it’s in the ballpark range that I’d expect from people with medical training.
From what I’ve read, the percentage of nurses in the U.S. who’ve been vaccinated is significantly lower than these physicians. Why is that?
My goal at this point is to encourage people to look at what’s really happening, not just listen to main stream media, whose objective is to spread fear. In some places Covid cases are going up—BUT—hospitalizations & deaths are down. Our goal was never “no Covid deaths ever”, it was “flatten the curve so hospitals aren’t overwhelmed & we don’t run out of ICU beds or ventilators.” To get the facts, start by googling your area & “ICU bed availability and Covid cases” Here’s the link to thenChicago area, which I randomly chose. https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid-19/home/latest-data.html
Study the graphs. Look at how the cases & deaths are DOWN. Look at how many ICU beds & ventilators are available (hint—plenty)
You can check out data for all the states here. For the entire United States, the last 14 days show that cases are up 94%, but deaths are DOWN 14%. There is An average of just 250 deaths/day in the entire United States. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html
maybe this is due to vaccinations, maybe we’re close to “herd immunity”, maybe it’s burning itself out. The point is it’s going DOWN. I’m not basing my decision to get vaccinated on something that is simply not happening right now.
Despite the continued high pressure to get vaccinated, it is a fact that the first vaccine was given in March of 2020. The “long-term” evidence about this vaccine is only 17-18 months old. There is NO LONG TERM evidence of ANYTHING—positive or negative—about this EXPERIMENTAL vaccine that is only authorized for emergency use. I have done a ton of research, and there are genuine concerns about potential long-term effects of the vaccine. My sources include the CDC, NIH, and the websites of the vaccine companies. Study the studies. Look at the actual numbers. Maybe these won’t turn out to be actual adverse reactions—but maybe they will. Your educated & informed decision was to get the vaccine…my educated & informed decision was not to.
I am so very tired of the debate about whether or not to get the vaccine. I am so very tired of snarky remarks that imply I don’t care about my residents or others, or want to make others sick, if I choose not to get vaccinated. I am tired of being told that as an infection control nurse I should not think for myself but automatically get the vaccine. I am tired of the acknowledgement of the “right to make my own decisions” — unless I decide not to get vaccinated. I am so tired of the implication that vaccination is the one and only solution & anyone who doesn’t agree is somehow lesser or uninformed. It is not! We all have access to the same information—it’s how deeply we choose to study it & the conclusions we draw from it—which are NOT just black & white. You know my reasoning, I know your reasoning. I’m done discussing it. I respect your decision. I respect MY decision. I encourage you to check out the links above & look at the original studies about the vaccines.
Specializes in Educator, COVID Paperwork Expert (self-taught).
1 minute ago, love2banurse89 said:
From what I’ve read, the percentage of nurses in the U.S. who’ve been vaccinated is significantly lower than these physicians. Why is that?
Nurses certainly have the intelligence to decide whether or not to get the vaccine & not do it just because the drs did get it. Maybe as a whole nurses are a little more skeptical, or have done more research on the vaccine and have decided it’s not right for them at this time. The nurses I know have done their research & weighed the risks & benefits & made their decision as to whether or not they want to be vaccinated at this time. Nurses have certainly worked with enough people to have seen the results of Covid, to see what it can do—and still make their own decision about whether or not to take the vaccine. Maybe they’re better at resisting peer pressure than doctors! (By the way, several staff members at our facility have had their doctors recommend that they NOT get vaccinated at this time; both have had Covid, one is having some long-term yet resolving effects from it.)
toomuchbaloney
16,030 Posts
Public health is more than individual choice, surely you've noticed that before now. Do you spend much of your time concerned that a peer is going to tell you what to do with your body? That seems like more of a personal issue than a broad concern.
BTW, does your current employer require proof of any vaccinations or a negative TB test for staff? Did you have to prove that you didn't put nicotine or cannabis into your own body for your employer? Maybe you told them to mind their own business...