Maya McFadden Photo
Public heath nurse Judith Medor gives Harper first Moderna dose at a pop-up clinic held at Newhallville’s First Calvary Baptist Church.
The author: Hesitant.
After listening to Leslie Douglas-Churchwell talk in depth about the severity of getting infected with Covid-19, I thought: Maybe I should get the vaccine after all.
Maybe.
As of Thursday, I am eligible to get the Covid-19 vaccine. But I’m not in a rush. Like many other young people, especially people of color, I have some hesitation. I need to be convinced.
Douglas-Churchwell, a Yale School of Medicine assistant professor, joined a group of other experts Wednesday night in an effort to convince people like me to overcome our hesitation, take the shot, and help the community “conquer Covid.” It was one of a host of local efforts to target Black and brown New Haveners, who have been hardest by Covid-19 and sometimes have expressed the most reluctance to get vaccinated.
The online panel discussion was hosted by the New Haven Chapter of the Links Inc. As I watched it, I could not help but think about what my own decision now that Connecticut has made individuals 16+ eligible to get the vaccine.
Douglas-Churchwell’s detailed explanation of what some hospitalized Covid infected patients do and don’t survive scared me.
As a young Black woman I felt more at ease while hearing from a panel of four distinguished doctors of color. The Wednesday discussion ranged from conversations about the severe effects of Covid and clinical trials and studies for the vaccines to getting Covid while pregnant and what it means to be immunocompromised.
Wednesday’s Zoom panel.
Unite Us Community Engagement Manager Kathy Townsend moderated the panel. The panel included Douglas-Churchwell, YSM Chair of Internal Medicine Gary Desir, women’s health Dr. Cynthia McCraven, and YSM Assistant Professor Deborah Dyett Desir.
In response to a question asking about the effects of Covid on the body, Douglas-Churchwell described shortness of breath as a worrisome symptom. If a patient is hospitalized for low oxygen levels, it can have a long-lasting effect on vital organs like ones liver, kidneys, and heart, she said.
Douglas-Churchwell added that severe Covid infections increase some individuals’ risk for respiratory problems, pneumonia, blood and artery clots, strokes, congestive heart failure, loss of blood circulation, and multi-organ system failure.
This made me think about how for the past year, I have primarily heard conversations about Covid infections that are either mild or result in death. I wondered: What about the grey areas? Mild symptoms like a fever, chills, headaches, and fatigue often make people think less of the virus and not take it as seriously. And then the idea of death seemed too far-fetched for me as a young adult with no preexisting health concerns.
Gary Desir reported that at this point in the pandemic, if one is hospitalized for a severe Covid infection, there is a 10 percent chance the infection will cause death. Since the vaccine rollout began, Desir added, hospitalizations of young adults and pregnant women have shot up. Of 137 hospitalized Covid patients at Yale New Haven Hospital, 45 are in the intensive care unit (ICU), he said. (Click here to read about the rise in Covid-19 cases among young people.)
The idea of being placed on a ventilator or going through oxygen therapy terrifies me. But the issue wasn’t directly affecting me, so I didn’t think too much about it. I felt that I was being proactive enough that I wouldn’t have to get vaccinated when it came time to.
Some years I take the flu shot; but some years I don’t. I have never gotten the flu in all of my 22 years of living.
However the panel caused me to think more realistically about really avoiding a severe infection, hospitalization, or death.
“The vaccine is not deadly, but Covid is definitely deadly,” Douglas-Churchwell said.
Gary Desir reported that the flu vaccine is 40 percent effective, while the Covid vaccine 95 percent effective. The Covid vaccines were created with modern methods making those that are Food Drug Administration-approved safe, he said.
This made me think about the many times I have gotten the flu shot and trusted it without any second thoughts.
Since the start of the vaccine rollout, I have witnessed several friends and family members get vaccinated. Honestly, this left me more appreciative than motivated to do it myself.
During the pandemic I have been influenced by conversations about minorities’ well-found mistrust of the medical establishment. This made me realize that I personally don’t go to the doctor often. Being a Black woman has led to a personal conclusion that doctors are often not my first solution to my medical concerns. I concluded that based on several experiences when doctors didn’t take my concerns seriously or show empathy.
Before Wednesday night’s panel discussion I had no urgency to decide whether to get vaccinated or not. Afterwards, I decided to take the question seriously. I haven’t made up my mind, but I am leaning toward it. I sent a preliminary email to Fair Haven Health Center. I haven’t heard back yet; if I do, I’m probably 90 percent of the way following through.
See below for information on where and how to schedule an appointment to get vaccinated.
• New Haven Health Department: Call 203 – 946-5950
• Yale New Haven Health System: Visit the website here or call 833-ASK-YNHH
• Cornell Scott Hill Health Center: Visit the website here or call 203 – 503-3000
• Fair Haven Community Health Care: Visit the website here or call 203 – 871-4179
• Walgreens (436 Whalley Ave., 88 York St., or 87 Foxon St.): Visit the website here or call (203) 777‑8001 for 436 Whalley Ave. ; (203) 752‑9893 for 88 York St.; or (203) 469‑3016 for 87 Foxon St.
• Walmart (315 Foxon Blvd.) Visit the website here.
Getting the vaccine isn't just about protecting yourself from the virus, it's also about protecting your loved ones from getting the virus, and ending the pandemic in your State, Country, and Worldwide. If everyone who medically can get the vaccine, gets vaccinated, it will help us get to herd immunity, protect people who aren't able to get the vaccine due to medical issues, and end the pandemic and get the world back to normal. I have a Smallpox vaccine scar from when I was a baby. Smallpox used to kill millions of people all over the globe, but was eradicated due to a dedicated global vaccination effort. https://ourworldindata.org/smallpox-is-the-only-human-disease-to-be-eradicated-heres-how-the-world-achieved-it.
When people continue to pass the virus from person to person you increase the virus mutating into a new variant. These variants may be more resistant to the vaccines. These variants could mutate to kill people more rapidly, or to be more contagious, or to be unable to be prevented by masks and neutralized by disinfectants. It's important for everyone on this planet to get vaccinated, because if a country doesn't have access to the vaccine, there are many more opportunities for the virus to mutate. Choosing not to get vaccinated raises the risk of creating a virus with extinction level capabilities. If you look at what happened in Italy at the beginning of the pandemic, and what is happening in Brazil now, you will see the vital importance of everyone getting vaccinated to protect our entire human race from this terrible virus. I have multiple autoimmune issues and was nervous about getting the vaccine, but I am more at risk from the virus than from the vaccine's side effects. I am getting my second vaccine shot tomorrow and I am looking forward to hugging my elderly relatives in 2 weeks after that, knowing I can't give the virus to them, and they can't give it to me, because we will all be fully vaccinated. Save the world, and get the vaccine.