Super grateful to receive shot one of the Pfizer vaccine today! It is actually crazy to think that this pandemic has only been a year and all the information we've learned, ways we have shifted our behavior, and research leading to the production of a vaccine.
I chose to get vaccinated to protect those around me. As a young and healthy person, my risk of severe disease are lower however I want to contribute to herd immunity to protect my community and the most vulnerable.
I am also in appreciation of the millions of deaths prevented by vaccines each year! Thankful for the researchers, scientists, health professionals and vaccination site staff for helping us get to this point!
I wanted to take some time to talk about vaccine hesitancy a bit, I have been thinking about it a lot coming off of AMEC where I attended sessions on mistrust in communities and was asked about it in my mock interview.
The perspectives that were shared were so powerful. I recommend everyone listen to the podcast episode “Racism, Trustworthiness, and the #COVID19 vaccine,” where two forces in the field of health equity and academic medicine, Dr. Giselle Corbie-Smith and Dr. Kimberly Manning” speak to this on the Clinical Problem Solvers
I believe as with all things in life we should treat others with respect and empathy as we encourage our communities to be vaccinated. I think it’s ok to question, it’s ok to wonder and I encourage you all to follow up those feelings by educating yourself and asking trusting professionals your questions.
I’m also reminded on the privilege to have to option to be vaccinated while for many people around the world this is not the case due to vaccine nationalism - a term I learned just a few weeks ago. It’s a very clear reminder of the inequities we face in this world! Leaving another article link below for you to read!
Here are a few sources you can check out:
Find a vaccination site: coronavirus.maryland.gov
Michigan Health “Not Sure About the COVID-19 Vaccine”
And CDC.org for guidelines on what you can do once fully vaccinated
Leave a comment and let me know why you choose to be vaccinated!
xoxo,
Kye