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A Narrative Thread: VACCINE HESITANCY IS A THING, EVEN AMONG HCWs
"Are you gonna get it?" a colleague asks me.
“Of course,” I say.
We stand outside the room of a patient dying from COVID, his monitor beeps a shrill pitch that quickens my own pulse.
A Narrative Thread: VACCINE HESITANCY IS A THING, EVEN AMONG HCWs
"Are you gonna get it?" a colleague asks me.
“Of course,” I say.
We stand outside the room of a patient dying from COVID, his monitor beeps a shrill pitch that quickens my own pulse.
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My colleague is hesitant about the vaccine's safety, given how quickly it was brought to market. I use the same tactics as I would with patients.
My colleague is hesitant about the vaccine's safety, given how quickly it was brought to market. I use the same tactics as I would with patients.
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"Tell me about your concerns," I ask. And then I listen. "I’m scared too," I respond, "but the data are convincing, and I trust Dr. Fauci."
"Tell me about your concerns," I ask. And then I listen. "I’m scared too," I respond, "but the data are convincing, and I trust Dr. Fauci."
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We are taught in medicine to honor patients' autonomy, to respect their views and allow them to make their own choices. I'm usually pretty good at this. I have let patients say no to lifesaving medications and then watched them die, all in the name of autonomy.
We are taught in medicine to honor patients' autonomy, to respect their views and allow them to make their own choices. I'm usually pretty good at this. I have let patients say no to lifesaving medications and then watched them die, all in the name of autonomy.
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But this feels different. Healthcare workers are supposed to model good public health practices. I think of my friends who are doctors in Zimbabwe. They work in hospitals without adequate PPE or pay, and in some places without running water. They wish for any protection at all
But this feels different. Healthcare workers are supposed to model good public health practices. I think of my friends who are doctors in Zimbabwe. They work in hospitals without adequate PPE or pay, and in some places without running water. They wish for any protection at all
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So when I have more conversations with healthcare workers here in Boston who don't plan on getting vaccinated, I become angry. "You sound like an anti-vaxer," I say to another colleague, “do you know how lucky we are to have a vaccine at all?”
So when I have more conversations with healthcare workers here in Boston who don't plan on getting vaccinated, I become angry. "You sound like an anti-vaxer," I say to another colleague, “do you know how lucky we are to have a vaccine at all?”
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I'm not sure where the solution lies for vaccine hesitancy in the general public, but I'm feeling pretty pessimistic if we, as HCWs, can't trust science and help our friends and family to do the same.
I'm not sure where the solution lies for vaccine hesitancy in the general public, but I'm feeling pretty pessimistic if we, as HCWs, can't trust science and help our friends and family to do the same.
