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Dr. Cara Agerstrand, a pulmonologist and director of the ECMO medical program at the New York Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center, was one of the first healthcare workers in New York City to receive the newly released COVID-19 vaccine. It then describes what it was like to get the vaccine and what development means for the future of our health.
The last ten months have been completely unreal. If they asked me, this time last year, to imagine what we would go through in 2020, I would never have believed it.
The complete tragedy of this pandemic was inescapable, especially in New York in the spring. We were very surprised by the whole thing. It was COVID in Wuhan, then Italy, and then before you know it, it was New York. It seemed that overnight, the world had completely changed.
At the end of March, I panicked and bought a bike in case the subway closed so I could get to the hospital. It was so surreal to see these completely deserted streets and to be able to cross into the light of downtown Manhattan in the middle of a weekday. Every place in New York City was silent.
I remember starting a week in the ICU, around the middle of March. Maybe we had two COVID patients there. When the week was over, our ICU was full of COVID patients. There were many other ICUs that were converted to operating rooms due to the flood of critically ill patients entering. Overnight, we had to develop and enact entirely new systems of health care delivery. We had to train other doctors to care for patients with severe respiratory failure. We had to create ICU beds in operating rooms on what were once hospital floors. There were field hospitals erupting in Central Park. It just became omnipresent.
The heartache and stress of spring are still alive in my memory, which is why I was so thrilled when I heard that I would be one of the first to receive the vaccine. I hardly even told anyone because I was so scared that it wouldn’t happen. It was such a remarkable occasion for such a worldly activity. I mean, I get the flu shot every year. After everything we’ve been through this year, this was the beginning of the end for this pandemic. It was a very humbling experience. What a contrast to the tragedy and despair of now having this shining beacon of hope in vaccine form.
The vaccine didn’t really hurt at all and only took a few seconds. I felt completely fine afterwards, with lots of energy and no side effects. Many of my friends and colleagues have received the vaccine and reported the same. Some of them had a slightly sore arm, but that was it. Above all, we were very happy and grateful to have been vaccinated, knowing that we were taking the next important step to end this horrible pandemic.
This vaccine will become our most important tool to fight this disease. In addition to everything we have been doing (social distancing, wearing masks, etc.), this vaccine is the next step that we must all take to end this pandemic. With an estimated 95% efficiency rate and extremely low levels of minor side effects, it is truly effective. All the people I know from around the country who have received the vaccine have had no side effects. Not even a fever or chills, maybe just a sore arm for a day or two and that was it.
It is important to remember that the people who develop this vaccine are scientists who are in this field to help people and do good. Their goal is to get everyone out of this pandemic in the same way that doctors and nurses do. This vaccine has gone through rigorous testing and safety protocols.
It is truly remarkable that within a year of hearing the word “COVID-19” we have developed an outlet for this. But we will only end this pandemic if people continue to do everything possible to help stop the spread of this disease, and that includes getting vaccinated.
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