Despite claims to the contrary, for the sake of the economy, the plague is not over!
This is especially true in areas where vaccination rates are low due to either lack of access or the anti-vaxers. Additionally, because of the variants that have been emerging, some of which are extra contagious, we might be seeing this plague sticking around for quite awhile.
TRUE: Vaccines are a critical tool in protecting you and your community from severe COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death. They are proven safe and are now protecting millions of vaccinated New Yorkers from COVID-19.
Vaccination is safer than risking illness and long-term side effects from COVID-19. Even people who have had COVID-19 in the past should still get vaccinated.
3rd shot in the arm today!! Whoohoo! Who’d have thunk I’d be psyched to get a shot. TBH, I have been nervous because - even tho my test results showed I made some antibodies - I am on one of the meds listed as preventing ppl from making a high amount of antibodies. Like my Drs just haven’t been sure if I’ve really been protected. Hopefully now I am. #GetVaccinated to help protect me even more! (Seriously, I don’t wanna get Covid. Pls help protect me. This has been my Ted Talk).
“I’m not getting the vaccine because it’s my body, my choice”.
The phrase “my body, my choice” is a good argument when it comes to abortion rights and sexual consent. That is a choice that will only affect either solely your body (in abortion’s case) or you and your willing partner(s).
But vaccines are not the same thing.
Saying “my body, my choice” as an excuse not to get vaccinated fuels the false assumption that getting vaccinated is only to protect yourself. It’s the assumption that it’s okay to not get the vaccine because you think you’ll be okay not taking it.
The truth is, the vaccine is meant to protect both yourself AND the people around you. Maybe you’ll be fine without it. But what if you spread it to someone who won’t be?
As life slowly goes back to normal, you’re gonna come into contact with people. It’s inevitable. Without the vaccine you could contact and unknowingly spread it to another.
Maybe it is your body, your choice. But you’re also taking away someone else’s choice not to get sick.
Purposely not getting the vaccine is an act of selfishness.
(Anti vax and pro life people don’t fucking clown on this post )
be careful if you’re getting vaccinated in glasgow. these guys were outside the hydro handing out anti-mask and anti-lockdown leaflets and fake mask exemption cards. they also decided to target my disability after i told them i wasn’t fucking interested they decided to scream across the road “fuck you and your fake fucking walking stick” which was just delightful and proves they really don’t give a flying fuck about actually disabled people.
Have you ever stroked a stranger’s hair when they’re sick and told them it’s going to be okay even though you know what the numbers on the screen mean? Holding someone’s hand while they’re crying and telling you they’re scared runs a chill down your spine. Have you ever called someone by a name on a armband but wondered if that’s what their family calls them? Have you ever seen someone close their eyes and wonder if they’ll ever open them again? Have you ever forgotten what color someone’s eyes are? Have you ever been the place holder for their wife, husband, children, mother, or father? Have you ever cried telling that stranger that their family says they love them and that they’re praying for them even when they can’t be there with them? You ever tell that stranger that you’re praying for them too?
Nurses everywhere are tired. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. We’re all tired.
“Most of the resources we are devoting to Covid in hospital are being spent on people who have not had their jab
In hospital, Covid-19 has largely become a disease of the unvaccinated. The man in his 20s who had always watched what he ate, worked out in the gym, was too healthy to ever catch Covid badly. The 48-year-old who never got round to making the appointment.
The person in their 50s whose friend had side-effects. The woman who wanted to wait for more evidence. The young pregnant lady worried about the effect on her baby.
The 60-year-old, brought to hospital with oxygen saturations of 70% by the ambulance that he initially called for his partner, who had died by the time it arrived; both believed that the drug companies bribed the government to get the vaccine approved.
All severely ill with Covid. All unvaccinated and previously healthy. All completely avoidable.
Of course, there are people who have their vaccinations but still get sick. These people may be elderly or frail, or have underlying health problems. Those with illnesses affecting the immune system, particularly patients who have had chemotherapy for blood cancers, are especially vulnerable. Some unlucky healthy people will also end up on our general wards with Covid after being vaccinated, usually needing a modest amount of oxygen for a few days.
But the story is different on our intensive care unit. Here, the patient population consists of a few vulnerable people with severe underlying health problems and a majority of fit, healthy, younger people unvaccinated by choice. Watching the mix of patients coming in with Covid, it feels to me like hardly anybody has been vaccinated nowadays; of course, this is because the people that have been vaccinated are getting on with their lives at home. If everyone got vaccinated, hospitals would be under much less pressure; this is beyond debate. Your wait for your clinic appointment/operation/diagnostic test/A&E department would be shorter. Your ambulance would arrive sooner. Reports of the pressure on the NHS are not exaggerated, I promise you.
Furthermore, we have recently rolled out a new medication for patients without antibodies against Covid. It costs about £2,000 a treatment and is subject to a rigorous and time-consuming approval process for every case we treat. Guess which patients don’t have these antibodies (spoiler: it’s not the ones who have been vaccinated).
Most of the resources that we are devoting to Covid in hospital are now being spent on the unvaccinated.
Yes, vaccinations are unpleasant. They cause side-effects. They hurt. You may even still catch Covid afterwards. I have many colleagues who have felt awful after vaccination and a few who had to take a day or two off work. However, I have not heard of any who have been hospitalised with Covid afterwards or who have had severe side-effects. The approvals process was incredibly stringent and we now have an unbelievable amount of real-world data that these vaccines work. The science that has been applied here is nothing short of awe-inspiring to me. However, I realise that none of these rational arguments would change the mind of someone who is resolved against having it, although I suppose it may push someone who remains undecided.
As a respiratory doctor, I have spent my whole career treating people whose lung diseases have been caused by smoking, including long after they knew the risks. I have spent countless hours with people who blame themselves for ruining their health; I have thought a lot about our personal responsibility for our health and to what degree we should be held accountable for our choices. I personally – unlike some of my colleagues – have never felt any ambivalence about treating smokers without judgment in exactly the same way as people with diseases that are not seen as self-inflicted.
Enshrined in the way we protect patients’ autonomy is the recognition that others may reasonably make decisions we may see as irrational or wrong. We are all products of our upbringing, education and opportunities, and I have been hugely fortunate that in my case these have led me to make decisions I value. Who is to say I wouldn’t have made different choices in someone else’s shoes.
Translating this to the choice not to take the vaccine, however, I find my patience wearing thin. I think this is for a number of reasons. Even if you are not worried about your own risk from Covid, you cannot know the risk of the people into whose faces you may cough; there is a dangerous and selfish element to this that I find hard to stomach.
Some of my frustration is directed upwards, at the flagrant misinformation flourishing in certain places and the utterly woeful example that our leaders continue to set. I have never heard a reason not to take the vaccine that I have agreed with. Most of all, however, I am now beaten back, exhausted, worn down by the continuous stream of people that we battle to treat when they have consciously passed up the opportunity to save themselves. It does make me angry.
Despite this, I find the idea of NHS and care staff being forced to be vaccinated very difficult. I know that it is the right outcome, but I dislike the means of bringing it about. It is incredible to me that there is so much anxiety and falsehood around that this could possibly be necessary after the year we have all witnessed. How strong is the hold that this information has on people that it outweighs rational thought?
Maybe it’s just that others have not seen what I have recently, or do not believe it, but even now we have nurses on our Covid ward who have not been vaccinated. I just hope that we don’t end up losing yet more staff.
Fundamentally though, for me, it comes down to this. I can’t think of a single case offhand of a person who was previously fit and healthy who has ended up needing intensive care after being fully vaccinated. It may not stop you from catching Covid. But it can save your life when you do. “
Personal note: this hits right on so many levels, as i myself know people who refuse to get vaccinated (or even worse, against wearing masks) despite the consequences. It needs to get addressed, even if i use this primarily for my film and art interests.
“Have you even researched the vaccine, you’re just going to let your kid get it the moment it comes out?” Yeah I’m not huge on research, I guess I’m just lazy, anyway I do this crazy thing where I pay good money into a system every year and they take that money and use it to pay other people to do the research on my behalf. It’s like a subscription service but with the country’s best scientists and doctors. Highly recommend!
In December, we visited family over my kids’ school break.
We wore masks everywhere we went. Our entire family is vaccinated, and those who can receive booster doses have done so. We only had contact with our own immediate family. In spite of all this, I contracted Covid-19.
I have an immune system disorder, but my health has been good over the last year. I’m in my thirties. I have no history of lung problems. My Covid-19 progressed over the course of three weeks. I recently retested, and I’m currently negative, which means I’m no longer infectious. I absolutely believe that my vaccination kept me out of the hospital so far.
Unfortunately, I’ve now developed pneumonia. I have “walking pneumonia,” which is colloquial term for the least dangerous stage of infection. Basically, it means you can still function. A lot of people with mild pneumonia do not seek treatment because they mistake it for a cold or flu. If your immune system is very healthy, and you weren’t already sick, you might recover on your own, but it’s still better to seek treatment and avoid the risk of progression.
I have a persistent dry cough, fatigue, headaches, trouble breathing, and night sweats. It gets worse over the course of the day. I’m taking shallower, more frequent breaths; my body adapted to doing that very quickly. If I sit still and don’t talk, I can almost forget I have it, which can be confusing if your life is pretty sedentary.
Viral pneumonia can actually loweryour core body temperature. This means you may not develop a fever. This is particularly common for people with weakened immune systems (such as those who are also fighting off Covid-19).
Pneumonia comes in two varieties: Viral and bacterial. The bacterial variety is more dangerous, but the viral version is harder to treat. My oxygen saturation is still good. If my pneumonia turns out to be bacterial, and responds well to treatment, then I’ll avoid hospitalization.
Avoiding hospitalization is so important, guys. Our hospitals (in the USA) are at capacity. They cannot afford to take on patients who wouldhave recovered if they’d just treated themselves earlier.
If you have anysymptoms of Covid-19, please get a PCR test. I was negative on the home tests, possibly because I was testing too soon after infection and possibly because home tests aren’t as accurate. Households in the USA are entitled to four free home tests, which you can order right here. A home test is way better than no test, friends.
If you develop even mild breathing problems, contact a doctor. Take all of the medicine prescribed to you.
According to my doctor:
1) If you get out of breath walking short distances or up stairs, and that’s not typical for you
2) If you can’t get any relief from cough medicine, or your cough seems to be getting worse instead of better
3) If you hear any whistling sounds when you breathe (wheezing)
Go to the ER. Don’t wait.
Get vaccinated. Wear a mask. This really is dangerous.
One in five adult Covid survivors under the age of 65 in the United States has experienced at least one health condition that could be considered long Covid, according to a large new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among patients 65 and older, the number is even higher: one in four.
In an indication of how seriously the federal health agency views the problem of long Covid, the authors of the study — members of the C.D.C.’s Covid-19 Emergency Response Team — recommended “routine assessment for post-Covid conditions among persons who survive Covid-19.”
Long Covid is the term used to describe an array of symptoms that can last for months or longer after the initial coronavirus infection. The researchers identified post-Covid health problems in many different organ systems, including the heart, lungs and kidneys. Other issues involved blood circulation, the musculoskeletal system and the endocrine system; gastrointestinal conditions, neurological problems and psychiatric symptoms were also identified in the study.
Surgery was yesterday. It all went really well. You can tell I’m good based on fact I’m posting the day *after*. & I’m doing really good w the hip recovery, but my heart rate & blood pressure keep dropping (possibly leftover reaction to anesthesia), so PT doesn’t wanna push me too hard for that reason, so I’m staying one more night. Mostly biggest issue is so sore from being stuck in bed. . Anybody wants to do something for me - Go Get Vaccinated! It’s my new love language. My meds suppress how many antibodies I can even make, but like the more ppl vaccinated, sooner we stamp this out & I ain’t gotta worry. Bc it sucks having to wear a mask 24/7 in here, even when I sleep. It’s required for staff, optional for patients, but last night I heard my roommate coughing, probably a post-surgery post-intubation cough, but I’m not taking any chances. So there’s that. Will try to update again on Saturday or Sunday, when I’ve been home a day or two.
3rd shot in the arm today!! Whoohoo! Who’d have thunk I’d be psyched to get a shot. TBH, I have been nervous because - even tho my test results showed I made some antibodies - I am on one of the meds listed as preventing ppl from making a high amount of antibodies. Like my Drs just haven’t been sure if I’ve really been protected. Hopefully now I am. #GetVaccinated to help protect me even more! (Seriously, I don’t wanna get Covid. Pls help protect me. This has been my Ted Talk).
