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I got my second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine last week. I wish I could say it was like any other vaccination, involving nothing more than a sore deltoid at the injection site. But I got slammed with this one. And from the sound of it, others did too. I’m not complaining. I will gladly go through fevers, rigors, and headaches to avoid getting COVID. 24 hours of symptoms was hard but tolerable. I can’t imagine having them for a week or longer.
The day after I received the first dose, I volunteered in the vaccine clinic and ended up actually giving injections. I even vaccinated some of the surgery staff and residents. Occasionally I had to reassure people that, while I am not a nurse, I do know my way around sharp instruments. While giving the vaccine was a request from hospital leadership, I didn’t realize how important and symbolic giving the vaccine was going to be for me personally. It was the first time I had done something to actually treat this disease. All I had done until now was treat the disease’s symptoms. I was finally doing something proactive rather than reactive.
Even though vaccine administration hasn’t been as fast as desired, our healthcare system has done a great job at distributing all of its allocation. I’m also proud that trainees were included in the initial high priority distribution without a second thought in contrast to some other high-profile institutions.
Not surprisingly there are a number of folks declining the vaccine for a variety of reasons. While it would be easy to criticize, it is important to recognize the concerns as real and try to understand their motivation. Educating, instructing, reassuring, and acknowledging the concerns will help more than condemning, shaming, and belittling. Just look at what name-calling and labeling has accomplished in the political realm. And as mentioned, the side effects for many are not trivial. I have a better understanding of how fearful some may be.
President Biden has made a big commitment to widely distribute and administer vaccines in the fastest time frame possible. 100 million vaccines in 100 days. This is one of the few presidential promises I can remember that would benefit all segments of society. I truly hope he can lead it to completion.
Jeffrey G. Chipman, MD, FACS
Frank B. Cerra Professor of Critical Care Surgery
Division Head, Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery,
University of Minnesota
Executive Medical Director, Critical Care Domain, M Health Fairview
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