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Michelle Chester, DNP, Director, Employee Health Services, Northwell Health at Long Island Jewish … [+]
AFP via Getty Images
Shortly after 9 a.m. today, Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York, became the first healthcare worker to receive the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech in New York, as part of a 2-injection regimen. marking a historic day in the ongoing pandemic.
“This is the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is a long tunnel,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said during a live broadcast as the nurse was vaccinated.
The launch of the vaccine comes less than a week after the FDA cleared the vaccine for emergency use in Americans 16 years and older, and 2 days after the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a An independent panel of medical and public health experts advising the CDC on vaccines gave its approval. The Emergency Use Authorization (US) gave Pfizer the green light to begin shipping 2.9 million doses of its vaccine to 636 sites in the US.
The event was undoubtedly a bright spot amid growing numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths (nearly 300,000) illustrating the importance of science and innovation in the fight against disease.
Most early vaccinations are expected to be given to high-risk healthcare workers. Clearly, this limited initial shipment will be inadequate to vaccinate all doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, technicians, patient transporters, cafeteria workers, and security personnel who are at risk of exposure to the virus on a daily basis.
Nursing home residents, who account for a disproportionate number of deaths from Covid-19, are also a priority as part of the initial vaccination phase, expected to start next week. But the reality is that most Americans won’t start getting the vaccine until spring or even early summer.
Even greater, the growing “vaccine hesitancy”, defined by WHO as “a delay in the acceptance or rejection of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services” will limit our ability to vaccinate to 70-80 percent. of the US population, the level required to achieve herd immunity, thus preventing continued transmission of the virus. A Gallup poll released in early November indicated that 42% of Americans would not accept the vaccine if it were approved and offered at no cost. Reports also indicate that fear and skepticism around the vaccine often exists in communities of color, as well as in economically disadvantaged localities.
Dr. Henry Bernstein, Professor of Pediatrics, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra / Northwell, and a member of the CDC’s ACIP Advisory Committee, agrees that convincing the general population of the importance of to get vaccinated. against Covid-19. But when health care providers uphold the benefits and safety of being vaccinated, and also agree to be vaccinated, it helps promote broader vaccination rates.
“There’s no question that when a provider recommends that patients get the vaccine, they are happier to take it and follow our recommendation, so we can be a role model by getting the vaccine ourselves,” Bernstein said.
Talking to key influencers is also critical to helping increase vaccination rates in the community, Bernstein offered, which includes clergy, local leaders and store owners in more rural settings.
And if the use of masks has been an indicator of how willing people are to accept a vaccine, we certainly have an uphill battle. While an essential aspect of increasing vaccination rates must certainly focus on the efficacy of the vaccine, convincing people about the safety of the vaccine will be just as important, if not more so.
“I think people should recognize and remember that although these vaccines have been developed at a rapid rate, scientific integrity has not been compromised,” Bernstein emphasized. “The safety and efficacy of the vaccine is really remarkable.” And it is even more remarkable when it is understood that it is a respiratory virus vaccine. Because getting a vaccine against the respiratory virus to be just as effective, 95% effectiveness is even more remarkable, “he added.
Bernstein explained that both the FDA and the CDC have partnered to monitor the safety of people after they receive the vaccine. V-safe, a health check app released by the CDC and downloadable to your smartphone, will be available to monitor patient symptoms. “It uses text messages and web-based surveys to communicate with vaccine recipients, and there will be a phone follow-up of anyone who reports medically significant adverse effects,” Bernstein said.
Another post-vaccination monitoring system is the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), jointly administered by the FDA and CDC to collect all types of medical reports from patients, healthcare providers, and manufacturers related to medical effects. adverse or notified. related to the administration of the vaccine.
And finally, it is vital that people understand that the Pfizer and BioNtech vaccine is a 2-shot regimen, with the second shot being given 17-21 days after the initial vaccine. The reported 95% efficacy of the vaccine is related to the successful completion of the 2-injection regimen, as its effectiveness is not documented after receiving only one of two injections, “so it is vitally important to receive both doses.” Bernstein said.
“The first dose primes the immune system and then the second dose stimulates it,” he added.
