[ad_1]
Nearly 620,000 Americans have died from Covid-19 and more than 32 million have been infected.
Healthcare workers have been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. And for many, the last few months have been seen as already.
An increase in the number of Covid patients in hospital, an increase in the number of deaths and widespread misinformation about the disease have left some with the impression that it is “summer 2020 again”.
But has the vaccine changed anything? Are health professionals hopeful for the fall?
We went back to several healthcare professionals – doctors, nurses and medical staff – whom we spoke to last summer, to ask them how they are doing almost 18 months after the start of the Covid pandemic.
Here is what they told us.
Much has changed in the past year and much has not. Last year, every day I went to work, there was always the fear of getting sick myself or spreading Covid to my family.
From April to June 2021, things were looking better. We saw families in the hospitals again, the patients were optimistic and we looked forward to the summer. Unfortunately, the Delta variant and the missteps of our policy towards it made it seem like it was August 2020 again.
I am just frustrated. Last year we didn’t have a vaccine and there was a sense of inevitability when it came to an increase in cases.
This time around, we have a vaccine that can prevent the majority of hospital cases of Covid, but our intensive care units in some states are fuller than ever. Fewer people are wearing masks and I fear a particularly brutal flu season combined with the continued spread of Covid Delta.
What worries me is that last year, when we saw our hospitals fill up, our political leaders responded to these challenges with political action. But this time around, we just don’t. Our Texas governor has issued mask warrant bans and we are lagging behind on vaccines.
I really hope we can find a way to depoliticize the pandemic, the masks and the vaccine. If we can do that, Covid can become a minor nuisance rather than a death sentence for thousands more Americans.
We have not yet brought the pandemic under control. We haven’t been able to control it, and now we’re probably heading for another push, at least in the United States.
In Massachusetts, we are preparing our hospitals for this after seeing the increase in patient numbers in other states.
I think it’s mainly because the vaccinations haven’t been where we want them to be. It was a race and we lost because with the Delta variant the vaccine is not as effective. It’s lower – but we don’t know by how much.
Even vaccinated people are infected with Covid. This new strain was not incorporated into vaccine studies initially. This is why companies like Pfizer and Moderna are now considering getting the booster with the Delta variant.
One of the worst things we see is infected pregnant people – it’s a heartbreaking situation.
Although it is not mandatory, as a doctor I would recommend the vaccine. We expect this won’t slow down for a little while. We hope that if people get vaccinated and move away socially like we have done before, we can minimize the peak of this wave.
We have to be proactive.
A lot has happened since April 2020. After working as an intensive care nurse during the height of the pandemic in New York City, I was exhausted. Fortunately, in the summer, the Covid numbers plummeted and professional life settled down a bit. As the dust settled, New York City felt different.
I could feel itchy to leave, desperately wanting a change of scenery. So I chose a city in Texas that I had never been to and accepted a travel nurse contract in El Paso at the end of summer 2020.
What started as a cool experiment quickly turned into another Covid nightmare. El Paso quickly became an epicenter of Covid as the virus infected entire households.
Instead of returning to the acute care hospital setting in 2021, I accepted a nurse practitioner position at immunization clinics across New York City.
For almost four months, I was on the other side, the side that seemed less stressful and more optimistic. Instead of witnessing the tragic stories of Covid, I met the smiles of people enthusiastic about getting vaccinated, who were hoping to evolve into a new kind of normal.
Despite our best efforts, it breaks my heart to hear what is happening in hospitals across the country as Covid cases rise. Hospitals are understaffed and healthcare workers are exhausted again.
Everyone in healthcare is bracing for a tough fall and winter this year. It’s a bit disconcerting to see hospitals overwhelmed in late summer even before the flu season begins.
I am very concerned about the disinformation, conspiracies and propaganda circulating on the Internet about the vaccine and the virus. I know that in the end, this will only hurt our country and stifle efforts to curb the continued spread of Covid.
Over the past year, I have been inundated with Covid patients. Last year, my main fear as a doctor was to pass the disease on to my children and my wife while I was intubating and treating thousands of patients.
The vaccine has given many of us a little more peace of mind in protecting against acquiring the disease. This doesn’t mean people won’t get the disease, but it does mean that they will likely avoid hospitalization and potentially death. It gives me personal hope every day.
Having said that, I am sad about the recent hospitalizations and worry about the immunocompromised and patients who would have liked to be vaccinated but could not be due to other conditions.
I am sad that the political parties are blaming each other. I get frustrated when healthcare professionals provide inaccurate information that lowers the trust between our profession and the public.
Tackling misinformation and misinformation that may be factually inaccurate is our greatest challenge.
We need to understand the fears about masking, vaccines, disease, and then partner with those who have those fears to find ways to work through better, informed decisions.
Reporting by Angelica Casas, Bernd Debusmann, Chloe Kim, Roderick MaCleod and Marianna Brady
[ad_2]
Source link