While we all are entitled to our interpretation of data and news, as a health care front line worker who recently received her second Pfizer vaccine, I am ethically and morally responsible for responding to concerns about the COVID 19 vaccine. I am happy to respectfully engage with anyone regarding questions about the covid-19 vaccine as it is the #1 thing we can do to get our lives back to normal!!

I want to guilt free travel to and hug my mother and father again! This is why I got the vaccine:

1.I DONT WANT TO SUFFER AND DIE! There are things in life that you cannot protect yourself against (i.e.a drunk driver crashing head-on into your car, some cancers, etc) but vaccinations protect you from suffering, symptoms, and dying from specific diseases. They have proved to irradicate diseases (polio, mumps, etc) that plagued this nation and world in previous eras.

Now, with COVID running around in symptomatic and asymptomatic people, I am face to face with 100 strangers a week that I assume have COVID. I wear a mask and shield, I wash my hands, and limit my contact as much as possible in order to avoid getting COVID. But that may not be enough. Other people who are “trying to get back to normal” like an accountant seeing a well known client, gets coughed on and now is in the ICU fighting for his life after weeks in the hospital.

I know that man and his family wishes he had a vaccine instead of the heartache and devastation they are currently experiencing. We should all want to do everything we can to prevent our own suffering and dying when possible.

2. I DONT WANT MY LOVED ONES TO DIE!

• University of California San Francisco: We Thought It Was Just a Respiratory Virus – we were wrong
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention: CDC COVID Data Tracker

We worry about our parents, children, family, and friends. We want them to be safe, and remain a healthy part of our lives. Per the CDC, since Jan 21, 2020, there have been 21,853,491 COVID cases with 367, 652 COVID deaths (1.7% of people who get COVID DIE). The United States is seeing upwards of 3000 deaths a day from COVID and here in Los Angeles, the number approaches 200 people a day DYING FROM COVID.

These are grandmothers and grandfathers and cousins and healthcare workers. These are REAL people who, if vaccinated, would still be alive and enjoying their lives with their families and friends. They would not be DYING in hospitals ALONE if they were vaccinated.

I guarantee you any one of these souls crossing over would gladly have traded their death for a vaccine.

3. mRNA science has been around for decades and this SCIENCE is SAFE! We can manage the side effects easily.

• The New York Times: Pfizer Biotech Covid-19 Vaccine
• Center for Disease Control: Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work and CDC COVID Data Tracker

Almost 6.7 million vaccinations have been administered in the USA as of today and the numbers are growing every day. There are ZERO!!!! deaths directly linked to the vaccine. Yes, 21 people have had anaphylactic reactions but those can be managed when diagnosed. And now, you are required to be monitored by a nurse with a crash cart for 15 minutes after your vaccinations. They will save your life if it is endangered and you will live. Thank You epi-pens!

4. The #1 principle that anyone who’s taken a scientific research class knows is that “CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION” Yes, people who have gotten the vaccine have died at some point afterward. Just because two things happen in a similar time frame does not mean that one caused the other. Just because a man dies from a car accident on his way to work doesn’t mean the coffee he drank that morning caused his death.

Most recently an MD from Miami whose official cause of death was extreme thrombocytopenia (inability to form blood clots). Only time will tell if this untimely death was due to the vaccine or any number of other things that could have caused this. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, all of these cases turn out to be vaccine-related deaths. That’s SIX people out of 6.7 million, and some of these are international stories, so that figure needs to be measured against global vaccinations.

That chance at death is much lower than if you get COVID.

5. The #1 principle in healthcare is that nothing is 0 or 100%, not anything. Nothing is perfect. but that is LIFE!

6. Side effects happen and are part of everything we do and every choice we make (and fainting is NOT a side effect, it’s a psychological response to anxiety and fear) Health care workers are trained to be vigilant in everything they do but unexpected things still occur.

Name one medication that has NEVER caused an adverse reaction in a human” even antibiotics and aspirin have killed people – but here’s the thing: you’re still more likely to die WITHOUT antibiotics (during an infection, of course), than with them. Laxatives, aspirin – even “herbal remedies” have hurt and killed people. Does that mean we don’t take meds when we need them? Of course not.

The fact is, EVERYTHING has its risks, everything from walking down your stairs to having a life-saving surgery carries a risk. Now, how do we know what the risks versus the efficacy are when it comes to this vaccine? Most people don’t understand that absolute perfectionists rule the scientific and medical worlds.

While that may make us quirky and difficult Type A personalities, this is actually useful because doctors and scientists aren’t likely to “work together to maintain a conspiracy” – no, they all want to be the best, they want to be the ones who found the one thing no one else saw, they want to prove themselves smarter than their peers.

They make a discovery, go through all the exhaustive testing, then they post their findings for peer review and those peers try to recreate what their claim is suggesting. The cool thing about science is that science can’t lie. If I follow your instructions, the science says that I should be able to recreate what you did; if I can’t, then the science is off.

So if other scientists can’t recreate the claim, it’s thrown out and started over. Many scientists have to be able to recreate your findings before it can even come close to being called “fact”. This is how we know we can trust science – we have a ton of colleagues that would love to prove each other wrong, and if they fail to do so, then the science is sound.

The reason medications cause issues in individuals is because all 7 billion+ of us means 7 billion+ different chemical make-ups… We just can’t account for all 7 billion chemical fingerprints in a constantly evolving species.

I could continue but these 6 reasons are my personal and professional reasons that support the evidence and argument for getting the COVID vaccine and I strongly believe it is the BEST choice for you, your family, and anyone you love or care about (which should be all humanity).

Respectfully and thoughtfully, A MEDICAL DOCTOR WHO THANKS GOD EVERY DAY THAT I GOT VACCINATED!!!

The post A Doctor Responds to a Family Member About the Covid-19 Vaccine appeared first on Medika Life.

I was sad to see the headline in the LA Times yesterday, but not surprised. A large number of California’s healthcare workers are refusing to get vaccinated against Covid and it’s created an uproar. The article, entitled, Some healthcare workers refuse to take COVID-19 vaccine, even with priority access, has created an uproar and highlights systemic failures within the current government’s vaccine campaign. 

It has also highlighted the ethical dilemmas around vaccination and vaccine safety at a time we can least afford it. Are these healthcare workers within their personal and professional right to refuse the vaccine?

The problem California’s frontline healthcare is highlighting is not a vaccine issue. They trust vaccines. They are almost to a man (women, other) vaccinated and they vaccinate their children. Their problem is one of trust. If the covid vaccine had been touted as a medicine or treatment rather than a vaccine, they would still be refusing it. It’s just hugely unfortunate, at this point in our history, that it happens to be a vaccine. 

I’ve linked to the tweet of the article below to allow you to gauge the public response, which is an overriding one of indignant anger. Should we be upset with these healthcare professionals and do we have the right?

Safety and Obligation

The obvious and most worrying issue posed by their decision not to get vaccinated is the question of safety, not to the nurses and doctors themselves, but to patients, particularly the high-risk sectors of the community. Do the unvaccinated doctors pose a greater risk to patients in terms of transmission of the coronavirus to patients?.

Many elderly patients require constant medical attention for one ailment or another. The same applies to people with known risk vectors, high blood pressure, heart conditions, obesity, etc. Do they now have the right to refuse care from professionals that have chosen not to receive the vaccine? Do patients have a right to be told who has been vaccinated and who hasn’t?

And what of the healthcare workers? Are they not obliged, in the interests of patient safety to take the vaccine. Are they not obliged, as responsible members of the medical community to set an example. 

Perhaps, the most relevant question is this. Why do these science-based professionals not trust the process and assurances given by Pfizer, Moderna, and the FDA regarding the safety of the vaccine? A small percentage of these individuals suffer from the same issues that trouble the public. A lack of reliable information. Conflicting narratives have plagued the war against covid in the US from the outset.

Should we perhaps consider enforcing vaccination for certain public-facing sectors that offer vital services? For example, should vaccination be compulsory for healthcare, policing, and social services, not to mention the politicians?

It’s a complex, ethical nightmare riddled with really complex questions, some of which I have raised above and unfortunately, most of the blame for the current sad state of affairs must be laid squarely at the door of the Republicans and the incumbent President. 

To try and understand the positions of the healthcare workers who, don’t forget, are still risking life and limb, vaccinated or not, let’s try and unpack the individual components that have led us to this point. They will point to why the vaccine itself is actually not the major underlying reason for people’s refusal of it. 

The role of Trump’s toxic America

President Donald Trump’s lasting legacy will be the American divisions he highlighted and fed during his four years in office. He inherited a divided America and he has amplified those divisions for his own gain. 

America has for decades been divided along party lines. It’s been nasty, sometimes unpleasant, and, at times, downright dirty, but there was always a thin veneer of civility and humanity plastered across the festering sore of political division. 

Trump tore away this social bandage and has continued throughout his four-year tenure, to pour poison into the wound, feeding his own agendas at the expense of the American soul. Americans, duly primed, erupted, spurred on by the ever-supportive yes-men of the Republican Party. 

Guilt for the current pandemic response, perhaps better described as a clusterfuck of monumental proportions, is shared equally by all Republican politicians and should be owned accordingly. No political maneuvering by them can obfuscate their complicity in the sea of misinformation and the resulting loss of American lives. Their sad legacy continues to hound the covid vaccine.

Trust was one of the first victims of this remorseless onslaught. Decades of questionable but “sounds iffy, but we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt” believability in the American political system was destroyed overnight. 

It is this absence of trust that lies at the heart of the Californian worker’s refusal to be vaccinated. They no longer trust the system or any players involved in the system that created the vaccine. Read Pfizer, Moderna, the FDA, CDC, HHS, Lightspeed, or any other government agency or associated party. 

Every one of the large Pharma companies was embedded with government agencies over the last few months, all hoping to be the first across the finishing line. Many prominent US politicians, it can be argued, are in the pockets of, or politically beholding to, large pharma. Money and favors have undoubtedly changed hands in the past few months and will continue to do so. 

The FDA and CDC have squandered most of their credibility over the course of the pandemic. Once seen as the bastions of American healthcare and the seat of reliable and trustworthy information and opinion, their voices are now questioned openly and their halcyon days may never return. 

A complete press and social media crackdown on any contrary Covid related material was also seen by many as an attempt to control the narrative and sell an official story. A typical backlash to any form of censorship.

So from a systemic point of view, can you really blame the covid vaccine? It is a victim of circumstance and is viewed by many Americans as a product of a corrupt and unethical Kabal, led by the king of falsehoods and ably supported by his minions. 

Equally, can you blame individuals for questioning the narrative (regarding safety) produced by this Kabal to sell the vaccine to the public? Remember this is the same group that was telling us not to wear masks, that failed to provide any logistical support for healthcare workers early into the pandemic, and that has failed at every turn to effectively combat Covid. They lied for months and continue to do so. 

Why believe them now? Why gamble with your health on a product simply because they assure you it is safe? Any rational debate centered on the covid vaccine issue cannot ignore the fact that this erosion of trust is a key component. Restoring trust is a long and challenging process that requires time, a luxury we currently do not have. So what alternatives are there?

Enforcing Vaccines

Does your Government have the right to enforce vaccination? There are no doubt proponents for this course of action within the US and other governments globally. 

The answer is an emphatic and resounding NO. This would be an egregious violation of your human rights and your freedom to choose. You are not simply a vessel of the state, but an individual with rights and personal freedoms. Additionally, your current vaccination status should in no way impact your life or be used to deny you access to services.

This extends to making any form of employment dependant on taking the vaccine or being vaccinated. The reason is simple and straightforward. There is no scientific data to suggest that vaccinated people will not shed the coronavirus. As far as we know, the vaccinated are still a vector for infections. It’s why we are still advised to wear masks after we’ve been vaccinated. 

Let’s take a closer look at exactly what the vaccine does to your body, so we’re all on the same page. Importantly, to start with, vaccines aren’t an impenetrable shield against viruses. They are simply a tool to enable your body to combat viral intruders more effectively, preventing you from developing a serious reaction to specific viruses.

You can still contract the coronavirus after being vaccinated, the difference is that vaccinated people are far less likely to develop serious illness (covid). Vaccinated people will get flu-like symptoms (or perhaps none) for a few days and then you can get on with your life. A far better alternative to weeks of hospitalization and the very real prospect of death. 

The vaccine isn’t foolproof. Some vaccinated people will still become seriously ill, realistically that figure is probably between 5 and 10% of those who are vaccinated, potentially it could be far fewer. Again, we still lack sufficient data. We don’t have exact numbers and this isn’t proof the vaccine doesn’t work, it simply means it isn’t 100% effective at stopping serious covid infections.

Extrapolate that percentage into the current deaths in the US and your figure drops from over 350 000 dead to between 17 and 35 000 people. That’s a lot of people who could have been around to celebrate 2021 but aren’t, and it’s why the vaccine really matters. 

The accompanying strain on medical resources from a high death toll is also a major issue that impacts patients requiring urgent medical attention for any number of non-covid related conditions. Full hospitals cant offer you a bed when you may desperately need one.

With the very real possibility of another 350 000 Americans dying from covid in 2021 the danger is far from over. The difference now is that we finally do have access to a vaccine, numerous actually. As of now, getting people vaccinated is critical to reducing deaths in the coming months. That is a fact.

Will the Vaccine slow the virus down?

We cannot argue at this point, based on scientific data, that the vaccination will slow the spread of Covid. That is a disingenuous and misleading statement and although it may prove true in the coming months, we just don’t have the data to currently support that statement, so we shouldn’t make it or use it to justify getting vaccinated. The truth is what matters now.

Whatever statements epidemiologists may make at this point regarding the vaccine and transmission, these are conjectural, based on assumptions and modeling that is not yet supported by any existing data. 

Stop persecuting healthcare professionals. NOW. 

This covid vaccine is a personal choice. It always was and always will be. That doctor or nurse who has refused the vaccine because of personal concerns is fully within their rights to do so. They are also within their rights to expect that decision to remain private.

It’s not a choice they’ve made lightly and it doesn’t mean they will stop treating covid patients. They will still expose themselves to the risks, they just choose to rely on their own body’s defense mechanism. It is their choice. 

The covid vaccine doesn’t make them any less capable of treating you and possibly saving your life, at risk to their own. It also, as we have established, doesn’t make them any more or less of a risk for transmitting covid. 

So please stop your persecution of them on social media and in the press. They are putting their lives on the line, not yours, and to be honest, you’re in no position to pass judgment, so stop. 

What we actually know about the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines

The following isn’t lab-based or trial data, but real facts for consideration when you assess the covid vaccine. Hopefully, this will assist you in making your own personal decision. 

• Over 3 million Americans have already been vaccinated against Covid. This excellent resource from the New York Times will keep you up to speed. 
• None of those vaccinated have died whilst receiving the vaccine. It’s given under strict medical supervision and in the very rare event of an anaphylactic (allergic respiratory response) reaction, doctors or nurses are on hand to offer treatments. 
• To my knowledge, and we are a few weeks into the vaccination program, none of those vaccinated have died as a direct result of the vaccine. Those are pretty good odds in favor of a good outcome for you.
• It is far too soon to make assessments about the long-term effects, if any, of the vaccines, but these concerns are limited to younger candidates.

It would appear that both Moderna and Pfizer’s products are safe, based on the above figures. Long term effects aren’t a consideration at this point, particularly for the elderly. Today and tomorrow matter far more than events ten years away when you’re seventy. So if you’re elderly, definitely get vaccinated. If you’re in an at-risk category, get vaccinated. 

We cannot address concerns over long-term safety until the vaccine has been in the marketplace for months and possibly years. The same is true of any drug. Currently, the benefits of vaccination for the aged by far outweigh any undocumented long term risks that may or may not be present in the vaccines.

What about the other covid vaccines?

Slow down, and the FDA should take heed of this warning. You risk jeopardizing the reputation of your two successes by rushing through other EUA’s. There is a strong argument to be offered in terms of more rigorous testing prior to licensing additional vaccines and there is no longer the urgent need. 

We know Pfizer’s and Modena’s vaccines don’t pose a risk, based on actual evidence in the field. Three million is a lot of ‘trial’ subjects. 

Authorizing every new applicant to the market should now be done with far more circumspection and require more rigorous testing to ensure safety.. There is a definite risk involved with a rushed product and just because two companies have succeeded, huge companies with limitless resources, doesn’t mean that every other vaccine will be safe or without issues. 

Releasing one of these vaccines that could potentially prove dangerous to the public would be an unmitigated disaster to vaccination campaigns and the urgency has passed.

Pfizer and Moderna have offered us the opportunity to slow things down a little and apply more robust checks and balances on other vaccines. We should avail ourselves of the opportunity and be far more circumspect. 

This brings me to my final points. Reputation and resources. 

Both Pfizer and Moderna are massive companies that can not afford to fail. They have staked their reputations on the success of their products and this shouldn’t be overlooked. 

Failure on a global scale would be spectacular, and the results crippling for any company. 

Secondly, the fact that all America’s top tier politicians and healthcare workers have been targeted as first recipients for the vaccine speaks volumes to the manufacturer’s confidence in their products. While few tears would have been shed for the politicians, the healthcare industry matters. 

Kill off all America’s healthcare frontline and we’d really be up the proverbial creek hunting for a paddle. This reason alone would make me seriously consider the vaccine were I in your positions, troubled by uncertainty, rumors, and misinformation. Look at what is happening on the ground.

A final word for the US media

Now, more than ever, you need to avoid your clickbait headlines, particularly if it involves the use of the word vaccine. 

Show restraint and research topics thoroughly. Be circumspect in what you choose to publish. Your business of selling the early morning addition shouldn’t pose a threat to public health. That is something that can and will be regulated under a Biden administration. 

The cowboys are leaving the building. 

The post Why Some Californian Healthcare Workers Are Refusing the Covid Vaccine appeared first on Medika Life.

The questions are endless. The speculation and unadulterated bullshit circulating on social media is unprecedented and all across America, daily deaths and infection rates from Covid keep rising. As we apparently no longer “trust science”, thanks to amateurs speculating online, legions of health and wellness quacks, and rogue doctors who’ve lost touch with reality, we need to look to other forms of support for the common vaccine. We need to examine what we know about vaccines and apply a little common sense.

1. Evidence-based proof

Frontline healthcare workers are currently receiving the Covid Pfizer vaccine across all American towns and cities. It’s a common-sense decision to first protect those that protect us. Dead doctors and nurses are of little use in a pandemic and they’ve been dying in record numbers. This strategy has also provided excellent proof-of-use for the vaccine doubters, which number, according to some research, around 50% of the American population.

Look ma, no hands. It’s an absolute and undeniable show of faith by the medical community in the science, research, and trials Pfizer has undertaken with their vaccine. Every vaccination photo taken, every vaccination video posted, helps strengthen the message across social media.

The Covid Vaccine is SAFE. Look, I’ve just been vaccinated with it.

Make no mistake, vaccines are at war with the anti-vaxers. The fact that these groups and individuals are publically excommunicated from their professions makes little difference. It is the digital age. People wear their shame like a badge of honor, they pin it to their profiles, and the public lap it up. 

The only way to counter this sea of misinformation is to drown it out. To help build a wave of evidence-based proof, Medika Life and MOBILIZE™ Health is publicizing doctors, nurses, and frontline healthcare staff who get vaccinated under the tag #vaccinechallenge. You can find their images and videos on dedicated pages across our site and on our social media feeds.

You can join us, if you’re one of those brave frontline members, by adding your vaccination and voice to the project and help us build the hashtag. Follow the links below to do just that.

For adding a video or to view the latest videos, follow this link.

For adding photos or to view the latest shots, follow this link.

2. Consulting the numbers for evidence

Vaccines have been around for a while. They are undoubtedly the most administered medication across the globe. More vaccines are produced and used than any other form of medication. Think for a second how every child born will receive a whole course of vaccinations before they turn 2. In the last few decades, we have used hundreds of billions of vaccines. Billions, not millions.

These numbers tell us a few things we don’t need a science degree to figure out. I’ll list the obvious first and then we can examine each point below.

• Vaccines are one of the primary sources of income for pharmaceutical companies. Can’t argue this right? Number one seller = number one earner.
• Every medication has a few people that are going to react badly to it, some fatally. Our huge variances as humans make this unavoidable. We are unique and this causes issues with medicines. What works for me may potentially kill you. No other drug has been more exposed to this risk than vaccines.
• We know more about human responses to vaccines than any other drug. Why? Well, again, most used drug.
• You, yes you, were vaccinated repeatedly as a child and possibly as an adult? The fact you are able to complain and bitch about vaccine safety is a pretty clear indicator you survived. Repeatedly.

Now let’s examine these logic-based statements about global vaccine usage over the last few decades.

Big Pharma getting it right

Noe one can afford a faulty product distributed globally, particularly if that product could prove fatal. Pharma companies are no different and doing anything to threaten potential vaccine lines by releasing a dangerous vaccine is completely counterintuitive to running a successful business. It is the equivalent of selling a rifle with the barrel welded closed. Pointless and something only an idiot would consider. Pharmaceutical companies are not idiots.

DO NOT CONFUSE TRIALS with approved vaccines. Yes, there is a questionable ethic behind how some pharma companies test and trial their vaccines and other drugs. Denying this fact is counterproductive to rebuilding trust. Trials are mandatory to ascertain if a drug is safe. Sometimes things go spectacularly wrong. it happens. 

This is not however a discussion on the ethics of large pharma. It is about the safety of products that have successfully passed this trial phase. Approved vaccines that make it into the arm of almost every human on the planet. Poisoning your customers is something any company would rather avoid, particularly if you are dependent on them for more business. If you disagree with this point then I’d recommend you avoid going into business.

The luck of the draw

Every anti-vaxer has a list of websites that highlight alleged death and disease they associate with vaccines. Much of their data and evidence is highly questionable but as I said earlier, we aren’t here to bandy science about. We are here to establish safety by using common sense and logic.

Every vaccine has a properly trialed and established risk of use. For every million people, for argument sake, that take the vaccine, 2 will develop disease x, 6 will develop disease y and 10 might drop down dead from an allergic reaction. These are known, documented, and acceptable risks for this and other medications. 

There are also other risks that are highlighted as use expands over a period of time. The more people we expose, the more potential for little known reactions to become evident. If these adverse reactions exceed what is deemed acceptable by regulating agencies (the Food and Drug administration for instance) then the drug or vaccine is recalled. 

This almost never happens with vaccines as they are more rigorously tested than other forms of medicine. They are, therefore, far safer. If you happen to react badly to a vaccine, then you shouldn’t play cards, as you’ve been unlucky enough to have drawn that one in a million short straw. Keep in mind, there is no way of avoiding this. Somewhere, someone is going to react. That is a fact, but the odds are massively in your favor that it won’t be you.

You’re walking, talking proof that vaccines work

No small part of the reason you’ve survived into adulthood is the vaccine. Your body is riddled with a variety of different ones, as are the bodies of most other adults. The aggressive vaccination of babies and young children has saved millions of lives globally and virtually eradicated diseases that previously could very well have cut your life short.

For 99.9% of the world’s population, vaccines have been lifesaving. FACT. Why do you think diseases like polio, mumps, measles, and a host of other nasty bugs no longer bother us? Vaccines. Why do you think these diseases are again beginning to emerge in certain states? It’s because anti-vaxers refuse to have their children vaccinated. If you think this makes no difference to you, then you better think again.

How anti-vaxers threaten your life

Let’s take a little stroll down the path of not vaccinating children and see where it leads. Stay with me, as you had better believe it isn’t simply their children these groups are exposing to risk, but you as well. Your life could be forfeit simply because of misinformation and unscrupulous agents exploiting people for profit.

Adults are far more susceptible to serious complications from childhood diseases. Mumps in an adult can be life-threatening and leave you sterile. Not a problem, you say as the mumps virus is virtually extinct. 

Think again. Thanks to anti-vaxers, since 2006 the disease is back and thriving in the US. Many of those infected in these new outbreaks are fully vaccinated adults. Viruses mutate over time and if we allow new strains of old diseases to gain a foothold again in our societies, we face a massive health crisis. 

Secondary infections from catching these diseases are treated with antibiotics. Increased use of our limited range of antibiotics is leading to resistant strains of bacteria that pay no attention to antibiotics. Strains that you may catch and that may kill you. Resistant means what it says. We have no defense against these bacteria. 

So now you know. Doubt me if you like, but I can promise you now that the scenario outlined above is almost a best-case scenario if we continue to ignore simple logic and common sense. The choice is yours. Use logic to overcome the idiocy and disinformation littering the internet. Would governments risk killing off all their frontline medical staff by exposing them to a dangerous vaccine?

Vaccines work, they are 99.9% safe and we need to continue vaccinating ourselves and our children to allow science the time to develop new and novel ways of combatting viruses and new bacterial strains. 

Please vaccinate. Covid kills and if you are afraid of the vaccine and developing an allergic reaction, think of this. For fifteen minutes after you’ve been immunized, you will be in the company of trained medical personal. People who know how to deal with allergic reactions and who can potentially save your life. 

Avoid vaccination and you’re on your own with Covid. Covid may very well not kill you, but the odds are much, much higher of a covid infection putting you in an early grave, than you being killed by a vaccine. If I were a betting man, I’d pick the vaccine, every time.

The post Proving Vaccine Safety Without Relying on Science appeared first on Medika Life.

If you want your arm all over social media, reach out to us via email at vaccinechallenge@medika.life and we’ll make you famous (sort of). The #vaccinechallenge is all about highlighting the safety of the covid vaccine and restoring faith in the vaccination process. Your voices and contributions make a massive difference, don’t underestimate their importance. We’d also like to add that no elves were injured in the construction of this page.

So without further ado, welcome to our gallery of medical warriors without whom we’d be lost.

Dr. Julie Grimes, OBGYN, Austin, Texas

I am doing this because I want 2021 to be the year of the hug! So thankful for science and cooperation to make this happen for all of us

Jessica McNeills, Certified Nurse Midwife, Parkland Hospital, Dallas, Texas

Thankful to have access to healthcare options that can protect my life and others, and hopeful for the future

Veronica Oviedo, Labor and Delivery Nurse, Baylor Scott and White, Irving, Texas

I am proud to be a frontline worker and make decisions to improve/save lives #thankful

Dr. Andrea Arguello, OBGYN, MacArthur Medical Center, Grapevine, Texas

Have never been so excited to get one of these! Sleeping a little more soundly tonight knowing my daughter, family and patients are a little safer.

Hujefa Vora, Internal Medicine, Arlington, Texas

Overwhelmed. Exhausted. Fatigued. These are the emotions that have defined our existence on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last 9 months. We have watched helplessly as many of our patients and loved ones have slipped away. We have held the hands of patients who have passed on in respiratory isolation, their loved ones on the phone and miles away. But I have seen joy when the infection overwhelms, and the body and spirit fight on, conquering the virus and returning our patients to health. We have seen families reunited after long battles in the hospital or at home in quarantine. We have seen hope. We have known Love. I have seen the fantastic power of the human spirit. I have seen God’s love and the power of prayer. There were moments when I felt that I could no longer fight for myself or anyone else, when the exhaustion would creep in and leave me battered, bruised, and almost beaten. But we are physicians. And we work with amazing powerful nurses, medical assistants, medical techs, administrators, therapists. So I saw unexpected acts of bravery that I may never see again from my colleagues and friends. I saw us fight an unknown adversary. Courage and honor as we wrapped our patients in an armor of hope. I have seen hands that are raw from washing and sanitizing and wringing, but there was never any giving up or giving in. And today, at the hospital where I have seen and experienced all of this, there was a moment where my hope was recovered, where I became recharged and ready to step back onto the battleground. I saw the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, the sun peaking over the horizon at the end of a cold dark night. The promise of a new day. The vaccine. I want to thank all of my colleagues and compatriots who have shared this year with me and my family, and my staff without whom none of this is possible. We have shown that together, we are stronger, and we will overcome…

Sarah Vignali, RN, Fort Worth, Texas

Moritz Bartels, OBGYN, Tacoma, Washington

The beginning of the end of the pandemic. I’m so grateful to be able o do this

Dr. Ethan Nguyen, Anesthesiologist, Texas Health Resources, Euless, Texas

Hopefully this is the beginning to the end of the pandemic. So grateful to get it.

Elf on a shelf, LaborUnit, Bayer Scott and White, Irving, Texas

As per Santa’s directive, I’m safe to wrap presents. Anyone missing a syringe?

Dr. Danielle LeBlanc, Plastic Surgeon, Fort Worth, Texas

So grateful to get my first round of Covid-19 vaccine today

Judy Busch, Labor & Delivery Nurse, Baylor Scott and White, Irving, Texas

Taking care of me so I can take care of you

Jennifer Willoughby, Surgery Technician, Texas Health Resources

Round 1 of my vaccine…here’s to the beginning of the end of this awful pandemic!

Dr. Mitch Carroll, Geriatrician Dallas, Texas.

As a Geriatrician, I am proud to get the Covid-19 vaccine today. This step helps keep my family and I safe and allows me to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to my high-risk patients. I trust the science!

Tracy Speight, OBGYN, Health Central Women’s Care, Dallas, Texas

It’s a better day today!

Jay Patel, Interventional Radiologist, Baylor Scott and White, Irving, Texas

Just got the #covid vaccine and it feels like a new chapter has begun.

Dr. Julian Escobar, Fertility Physician, Irving Texas

COVID vaccinated. What else would you want more in 2020 when you interact with dozens of people daily? Thank you, Scientists. Thank you, Virologists. Thank you, Immunologists. Thank you Health Care.

Sarah Abbott Chang, Internal Medicine Physician, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

Here’s to hope – Team Vaccine!

Dr. Naomi Levy, Pediatrician, Memorial Herman, Houston, Texas

Felt a mixture of overwhelming relief, joy, hopefulness, gratitude, and awe as I received my first Covid vaccine today

Carissa Brown, RN, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago

Best Christmas present ever – thanks Science. Covid does not care who you are. It does not care where you live. how old you are or who you voted for. Covid does not care if you think it is real or not. With Covid you may have a mild cold for a few days, you may struggle with a loss of smell or taste for months; you may die. I have seen friends, family, and coworkers on all ends of this spectrum over the last several months, which is why I feel so lucky to be able to receive this vaccine. As healthcare workers, we will sleep a little easier knowing our patients and those we love are safer due to these advancements.

April Wilson Bleich, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Fort Worth, Texas

Got my shot today. Thankful for modern medicine and all the researchers that made this possible. One step closer to beating this sucker.

Dr. Greg Tichenor, ER Physician, Texas Health Resources, Euless, Texas

I am so thankful I was able to get my first dose of the Covid Vaccine Wednesday. This week, two of the patients I’ve admitted for Covid-19 have died and I attended (via live streaming) the funeral of a co-worker who died of Covid. Special thanks to my hospital system, Texas Health Resources, and the whole staff at Texas Health HEB for doing everything they can to protect staff.

The post Medika’s #vaccinechallenge: Add your photos here appeared first on Medika Life.

Doctors, Nurses, and other frontline healthcare workers can share their video vaccination links with us via DM on Twitter (@medikalife) or email them to vaccines@medika.life. We’ll add them as we receive them and we’ll keep this page up as a reminder of a turning point in the battle you’ve all been fighting so bravely. Feel free to add your name, area, and hospital details to the tweets or email. Medika will do the rest.

For those of you who want to submit photos instead of video, we’ve set up a separate page which you can find here

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa proudly kicks us off below. Any other frontline healthcare staff out there want to share their vaccination videos? Send them in, we’ll add them to the page, let’s help rebuild trust in vaccines.

The post Healthcare Workers Show Their Faith in the Covid Vaccine #vaccinechallenge appeared first on Medika Life.