Vaccination Is Not A Personal Choice
I recently read a Facebook post by a local hospital, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, encouraging the public to help combat the most recent COVID surge in their facility, by essentially triaging their own care. And of course, getting vaccinated. Here is the message:
We need your help.
We are continuing to see unprecedented demand for our services, fueled by a variety of pandemic-related factors. Today we had 34 COVID+ inpatients (30 unvaccinated) – an all-time high. We also had 8 COVID+ employees. Every Med/Surg area was beyond 100% capacity, with our Emergency Department above 130%. On Friday, we briefly declared diversion status for just the second time during the pandemic.
PLEASE...
* Only come to the ER if you need acute care. Our urgent and primary care locations can help with less serious needs.
* Get vaccinated from COVID. It may save your life or someone else.
* Remain vigilant in following best practices for the prevention of COVID (masking, hand washing, social distancing, avoiding crowds).
*Be patient with our staff during these extraordinary times.
The hospital remains a safe place to come. It's all thanks to our incredible teams who are navigating these unprecedented challenges.
Thank you. You are our healthcare heroes.
A friend told me that another local had posted a similar message.
The fact that hospitals need to focus their attention on advising the public on how to triage their own healthcare is complete insanity. Hospitals diverting patients to other facilities SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING HERE. That's reserved for episodes of Grey's Anatomy, on a bummer day in Seattle.
Stop telling me that being vaccinated doesn't stop transmission. That isn't necessarily the goal. The goal is to keep people out of hospitals so when you get appendicitis in the middle of the night, or your kid is croupy and can't breathe, healthcare is actually available.
No one can predict how their body will respond to this virus. You may think you are a healthy person with an ass-kicking immune system. Maybe that's true. But maybe it's not. Your decision to not be vaccinated is not a personal choice. Here's why:
If you arrive in an ER with a raging case of COVID at the same time I arrive with a severely ill or injured child in tow, and your inconsiderate behavior delays care for a member of my family, lack of vaccination stops being about you and starts being about others.
Isn't the whole argument about vaccine mandates about people not wanting to be told what to do with their own bodies? Well, guess what? You are making healthcare choices for my family and our bodies.
Get vaccinated, already. Despite everything you think you know, or heard from an old football buddy from high school, or listened to on a podcast - just get vaccinated. It's not perfect, but it's the best option we have.
