Before I begin to provide evidence-based, accurate information on all three different types of the Covid-19 vaccines, I want to paint a real-time picture for you.
- If you saw what healthcare workers see every day, would you change your mind?
- Currently, hospitals are at full capacity and resembling the peak of the previous Covid-19 strain. We are diverting medical cases elsewhere, we are expanding nursing units, we are converting surgical/orthopedic floors into medical overflow units and training non critical care nurses on how to care for critical care patients, we often have to move patients into a different room in the middle of the night to make room for an influx of covid patients, we are losing nurses as patient ratios have increased from a safe 4 covid patients per nurse to upwards of 5-6 because we don’t have staff.
- The worst feeling is seeing multiple patients in need of a bed, but no nurses to care for them. The charge nurses end up taking a full group of patients and there is no help for the unit.
- Last weekend, we had to double room two different sick couples, putting even an additional strain on staffing as we still only have 52 beds, not enough to staff those, but now upwards to 54 patients.. it is a nightmare.
- I have had family members yell at me because “I don’t believe in Covid. I am not leaving the bedside.” Security was called to escort them out of the hospital.
- I have had family threaten to kill nursing staff if anything happens to their family member. A police report was made.
- I have had family yell at me because it took 8 hours to get a bed.. Sorry, sir, the hospital is full… Comments like this are ridiculous and I do well to not get myself in trouble.
- I have had multiple patients crashing at the same and some who need a higher level of care, but there are no beds available, so they risk dying due to lack of critical resources.
So, what can the public do to help? Not call us heroes. Covid is back and just as bad, if not worse than before. Take a global pandemic seriously, wear your mask (at the very least), and get the vaccine if your medical doctor encourages you to.
PFIZER/ BIONTECH
- FDA Approved
- 2 doses 21 days apart, Booster recommended for immunocompromised 28 days after completion of 2 doses.
- 12+ y/o
- Possible Adverse Effects: injection site pain, allergic rxn, flu-like sx, *myocarditis/pericarditis in young men 12-17 y/o (RARE), syncope
- Ingredients: Nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding the viral spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2, 2[(polyethylene glycol (PEG))-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide
- https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html#Appendix-C
MODERNA
- Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)
- 2 doses 28 days apart, Booster recommended for immunocompromised 28 days after completion of 2 doses
- 18+ y/o
- Possible Adverse Effects: injection site pain, allergic rxn, flu-like sx, *myocarditis/pericarditis in young men 12-17 y/o (RARE), syncope
- Ingredients: Nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding the viral spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2, PEG2000-DMG: 1,2-dimyristoyl-rac-glycerol, methoxypolyethylene glycol
- https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html#Appendix-C
**Effectiveness of both Pfizer and Moderna were very similar with efficacy of preventing severe illness from Alpha (first strain) at 93.7% and Delta 88%. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2108891
JANSSEN (JOHNSON & JOHNSON)
- EUA
- one dose
- 18+ y/o
- Possible adverse effects: injection site pain, allergic rxn, flu-like sx, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, CAUTION: Women <50 y/o, risk of blood clots
- Ingredients: Recombinant, replication-incompetent Ad26 vector, encoding a stabilized variant of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein, Polysorbate-80
- https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html#Appendix-C
- Effectiveness: 74.5% Alpha and 67% Delta https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2108891
*Patients will be observed for 15 minutes post vaccination.
*Neither of the vaccines contain metals, eggs, latex, gelatin, or preservatives.
Things to consider:
,We will not shame you for choosing not to get the vaccine, but we do encourage it. At this time, children are not at a risk for serious illness, however they should be vaccinated to protect the vast public. We all need to work together to protect society. Yes, we all have freedoms, but we also have the civic duty as humans to protect our fellow neighbors. Covid is real, rampant, deadly, and why can’t we all work together to resume our pre-covid lives? Let’s be mindful of our actions. Lets continue to mask, get the vaccine, and fight the pandemic together.. Then, we can all be heroes.
Until next shift,
Shania