In the early months of 2020, we physicians, nurses, and other hospital staff entered hospital rooms frequently occupied by patients with Covid-19 infection. We wore extensive, cumbersome protective garb and face coverings (PPE). We worried about acquiring this life-threatening infection and passing it onto others.
At the end of 2020, a miracle of modern medicine came to the rescue. Three vaccines received emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Most physicians and about 85% of non-physician hospital staff quickly got vaccinated. The apprehension surrounding the care of covid patients significantly abated.
The Covid pandemic continues to devastate our lives and economy, and it continues to kill our citizens and fill our hospitals to capacity. The Delta Covid variant and likely other variants are surging across the country, including Kentucky and Ohio. Hospitals and ICUs are again approaching total capacity. Most infected patients have not been vaccinated. This is a tragedy as vaccines are readily available and free of cost to recipients. Vaccination will stop this devastating pandemic.
Dr. Don Saelinger
Additionally, it is clear from all available data that those acquiring Covid after vaccination will not become critically ill. They will not die from the infection and are less likely to infect others. Covid has killed over 600,000 Americans and just over four million worldwide, and the death count continues to rise. Widespread vaccination can stop this carnage.
The Delta Covid mutation is a slight change in the configuration of the virus such that it can enter human cells more efficiently and in more significant numbers. Additionally, more highly virulent strains of covid are likely to develop unless the susceptible human hosts are at least 90% fully vaccinated. Currently, about half of the citizens of the United States have been inoculated with one of the three available vaccines.
Unvaccinated adults cite a variety of reasons for not receiving the vaccine. The common reasons for refusing the shot include concerns about side effects, the newness of the vaccine, and a lack of trust in government officials and scientists. There are many social media sites and organizations which produce conspiracy theories and misinformation about the vaccine. Some say that one’s political leaning may also play a role. Both president Biden and former president Trump have strongly advocated for the vaccine. Mr. Trump was responsible for the rapid development of the Covid vaccine through the Warp Speed program. President Biden has ensured adequate supply and distribution.
The truth is the three available covid 19 vaccines are safe and effective. Millions of people in the U.S. have received COVID-19 vaccines. All three vaccines have undergone the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ensures safety before vaccines are made available. Data from large trials of diverse patient groups (age, race-ethnicity, etc.) are reviewed by experts who are entirely independent of the government and the manufacturers responsible for creating the vaccines.
COVID-19 is the illness that results when our bodies are infected with the virus called SARS-CoV-2. When you receive a COVID-19 vaccine, your body builds the immunity it needs to fight the COVID-19 illness, thus preventing infection or reducing symptoms. There are no microchips or magnets in it. It does not cause Covid, and it is not more dangerous than Covid. It does not cause infertility nor multiple other bizarre claims noted in social media.
The presence of new strains makes it even more critical for everyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19. There are fewer chances for COVID-19 to spread when more people are vaccinated, regardless of the mutation. Scientists expected that the virus would mutate. It is natural for viruses to mutate. This is why we need a flu shot every year as the virus changes from year to year. The currently available data indicates that all three Covid vaccines are effective against the new strains of SARS-CoV-2.
Vaccine recipients may experience mild side effects one to two days after receiving the vaccine. Side effects are more likely to occur after the second shot if a two-dose regimen (Pfizer or Moderna) is used. The most common side effects include soreness at the injection site, fever, and body aches.
It seems clear that all citizens over age 12 (with rare exceptions) should line up to receive the vaccine. It appears that the FDA will soon approve vaccination for children under 12. We health care workers take an oath to do no harm; thus, that 15% of unvaccinated healthcare workers might consider this oath before refusing. Many believe that loving your neighbor as oneself is one of the two great commandments; thus, not getting vaccinated seems to violate that commandment. The only way to end this pandemic along with its devastating consequences is to consider our fellow humans and each other by receiving the vaccine. We need to get to the 90% vaccinated status (herd immunity) to eliminate the reservoir for the virus and get our lives back to normal. It is free and readily available.
Dr. Don Saelinger is a distinguished physician, an internist, and gastroenterologist, who founded Patient First Physicians Group in NKY in 1976. He sold it to St. Elizabeth Health care in 2009. It became St Elizabeth Physicians and Dr. Saelinger became Sr. VP of St. Elizabeth Medical Center. He retired from St. Elizabeth in 2010 and has been involved in various consulting roles for Healthcare business and policy around the country. He has also been involved with various locum tenens (definition: one filling an office for a time or temporarily taking the place of another) positions in Gastroenterology. He recently retired as GI section chief and Medical Subspecialty division chief at Straub Medical Center and Hawaii Pacific Health in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has returned to locum tenens roles in Gastroenterology and healthcare business consulting. He is the oldest of ten children of William and Marcella Saelinger of Northern Kentucky. See his full bio here.
Thanks for your excellent column. I think it would be very helpful to those resisting the vaccine if more physicians would speak out and counter some of the nonsensical ideas floating around.