In my hospital, over 95% of COVID-19 patients share one thing in common: they are not vaccinated

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As an emergency and intensive care physician at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, I have lost count of the number of outbreaks of COVID-19 since the start of the US pandemic in Seattle in February. 2020. But this one is different. The patients are younger. They have fewer pre-existing medical conditions. And in my hospital, over 95% of these inpatients share one common characteristic: they are not vaccinated.

While I am grateful to see the news of the recent full FDA approval of one of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, the science has been clear in my mind for some time. The mRNA vaccines, first developed in nearly 50 years, are nothing less than a miracle of science designed for situations such as a respiratory virus pandemic. Vaccines are the most effective tool we have for preventing serious illness and hospitalization and protecting our precious health care resources. Some of my colleagues have just published a study showing exactly that.

Of course, every medical treatment comes with risks and potential side effects, but we have seen the world’s largest vaccine trial, with over 200 million people in the United States receiving at least one dose. Doctors can confidently state that side effects from vaccines are rare and usually mild, and rumors that vaccines alter DNA or cause infertility are completely unfounded, without scientific basis.

But I also have sympathy for those who have fallen victim to the disinformation. Too many times, a family member of a dying patient with COVID-19 has asked me if it was too late for the vaccine. Too many times, I have had to say yes. The next question is often: “Is there something else to do?” Too often the answer is no.

Having this conversation over and over again, often via teleconferencing software or over the phone, is exhausting and deeply sad, especially considering that in the case of unvaccinated patients it probably could have been avoided.

The story continues

I realize that not everyone sees what I see every day. While stories about vaccine reactions abound, few hear about the realities of a serious COVID-19 infection. However, when I close my eyes at night, I see the healthy 27-year-old man who died after four weeks hooked up to machines trying to keep him alive, and the young family he left behind. . I see the 41-year-old now permanently debilitated and disabled after a long hospital stay. I see the 53-year-old farm worker who now needs dialysis after developing kidney failure, a common complication of severe COVID-19. And countless others.

I often hear claims of “99% survival” of COVID-19 with or without the vaccine, but in reality the facts are much more astounding. Nearly one in 500 Americans has died from the disease, and for those who survive, the devastation is unlike anything I have ever seen. Holes in the lungs, muscle atrophy, failing organs one by one – millions of people will suffer physical, psychological and financial consequences that will last for months or years, a toll that is difficult to quantify.

The impact on our healthcare system is also difficult to quantify. The staff, even more than the beds or the fans, are extremely low. In Washington state, Texas and across the country, experienced healthcare workers are leaving the profession in droves, exasperated by the continued onslaught of sick COVID-19 patients and a demanding work environment. People – nurses, respiratory therapists, doctors, physiotherapists, sanitation workers – do the work in hospitals; a hospital bed is worthless without personnel to provide care.

As a result of these staff shortages, hospitals are closing and the inequalities and weaknesses of an already strained health system are highlighted. Revered as “health heroes” just over a year ago, doctors are heckled and even assaulted after talking about science at school board meetings.

I am frustrated that more Americans have not chosen to get vaccinated, to wear masks, to take this pandemic seriously. I often wonder what 2021 would be like if they had done it. For example, we have worn masks in the hospital for years for procedures and to protect ourselves from other respiratory viruses. It is known that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be spread by aerosols that remain suspended in the air, and that some masks cannot completely block these droplets. But we also know that COVID-19 and most other respiratory viruses are also spread by coughing and sneezing via larger respiratory droplets, which most masks block. Masks aren’t perfect, but there is strong evidence that they reduce transmission.

With many hospitals at full capacity, there have been questions in the media and elsewhere as to whether hospitals or healthcare workers should prioritize care of the vaccinated, or even refuse to treat unvaccinated people who develop. severe COVID-19, but that’s not how we think. In medicine, especially in emergency and intensive care medicine, we often care for people who make poor choices about their health. We advise, we provide information, we hope and we continue, providing exactly the same care, regardless of our choices or beliefs.

Although strained and imperfect, we do our best for everyone who needs us. But many places have reached a point where the demand for health care has exceeded the capacity to provide it. And we need help.

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This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Nicholas Johnson, Washington University.

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Nicholas Johnson receives funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Medic One Foundation, and the University of Washington Royalty Research Fund. He serves on the scientific advisory board of Opticyte, Inc.