Standing on the Backs and Shoulders of Giants

Today I had a needle inserted into me. A medication created by scores of scientists who I trust with my life was injected into my body. I will never pretend to understand the brilliance that goes into creating our medications and vaccines, but we rely on them to keep us alive as surely as we rely on those other scientific minds who created the cars we drive, the planes that give us flight, and the roller coasters we enjoy for purely whimsical purposes.

I got an epidural for my back today. I have a severe herniation and tear that I’ve been living with for years and will ultimately require back surgery. But not yet, not until after the pandemic. With my doctors’ help, I am doing everything in my power to get back to work at my hospital in a few months. I will gladly take the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine when there are enough doses for my exhausted coworkers, who are there on a daily basis, helping patients for both COVID and every other reason one can be hospitalized. I was actually offered a dose last week on day 1, because a computer spat out the numbers and knew I work a unit with COVID patients; if there were enough doses for all of my coworkers who are there on active duty, I happily would have taken it. But since I will be out healing my back for the next few months I diverted my dose to someone else who needs it, and will take one when I can confirm there is adequate supply for my colleagues. Because how can I call myself a first responder when I am currently staying safe at home with a 10 pound weight restriction. I am currently a patient. These vaccines are not yet available for most patients.

Which is why it pains me to know that there are so many who don’t want to take one. Who don’t trust it. Who think it was developed “too quickly to trust”. A fear I have observed on both sides of the political spectrum. Because those of us who work in health, who you put your lives in the hands of each time you go to the Emergency Room, or visit a loved one in my Med/Surg unit, we trust the science, which yes – is still ongoing but strongly recommended. (Please note there will always be exceptions, I do not believe it wise to speak in absolutes, but the overwhelming majority of scientists, epidemiologists and doctors have signed off on this for themselves and others.) I am fully aware this was created in record time, but that is a good thing, not a reason for mistrust. Countless brains with endless budgets have been working on solving this problem from here to the far reaches of the world. Each one is still being vetted and cross-checked by other scientists, and going through rigorous safety checks. I am aware that new things can be scary, but the sad reality is that here in Los Angeles our hospital beds are full, there is no space for patients who need the care, and we need to triage our world and cauterize our wound into a manageable bleed.

I cannot stress it enough, everyone should take this vaccine. Be aware that this pandemic will not end until 70 plus percent of us take one of the COVID vaccines. And additionally please be aware that with this new RNA based vaccine technology, what we know is that it will overwhelmingly prevent you from ever getting severely sick from COVID. But there are some questions you may still have:

• How long will immunity last? It may be one and done. It may be every 10 years. And it may need to be given annually with our flu shots. But if so, that’s okay. We’ve got this. Even if it, at most, it becomes part of our annual practice. You should be getting the flu shot annually anyway (unless your physician tells you not to due to your personal medical condition).
• What if I’m not part of the 94% effective group; what if I am in the 6% that it doesn’t work on? Good news. Do you know how effective your flu shots are each year? Close to 50%, some years more, some years less. But before you start cursing at their ineffectiveness, please understand that those percentages represent how many are completely prevented from getting sick. But an overwhelming majority of the rest, even when getting the flu, or in this case COVID, will get far less sick than they otherwise would. So don’t merely think of these vaccines as prevention, but rather as a combination of prevention and lessening of symptoms when not prevented. This happened to me 2 years ago when I got the flu shot, still tested positive for influenza, but it was a mild 24-hour version thanks to my being inoculated. So if you get COVID in spite of getting the vaccine, you are very likely to get a milder version of it. Still a win in anyone’s book.
• Can these vaccines infect me with the virus? Absolutely not. No. Anything you read otherwise is pure nonsense. This will likely make your arm hurt, similar to the frequent side effect of the flu shot. This may give you brief symptoms of feeling unwell and even a low-grade fever and malaise. This is also true of flu shots. But even if that happens, they will pass safely, and quite quickly, and they will be a healthy somatic response to the vaccine; your body is getting itself strong and ready to fight off the real infection as if it were to come along. It is not the virus itself. It is a defense to the virus. It is crucial to understand this, as there is misinformation out there propagated by both armchair scientists and anti-vaxxers.
• Can we still transmit this to other people after getting the vaccine? We simply don’t know yet if it only protects you, but still allows you to carry it and give to others. There isn’t enough data yet, although there is an expectation by most of the scientific community that we will see that yes it also at least in large part protects others. But we simply do not know yet. So thus once you are lucky enough to get the shot, you still must be responsible to protect others using the same basic measures encouraged for months – masks and 6 feet of distance.

• Can I stop after taking the first shot? Absolutely not. Do you stop antibiotics halfway through your regimen without a doctor’s order? Please don’t! These first two approved vaccines each are designed to fully work after 2 doses. Pfizer is instructed to be taken 3 weeks apart. Moderna’s should be 4 weeks apart. Both of them will only fully work a few weeks after you have completed your second dose. At that point you will be heavily protected, but again, we do not know if those around you are protected from you, so please don’t relax your precautions, and help ensure we slow the spread.

• Are the vaccines safe to take? I’ve read about allergic reactions. If you have severe allergies especially to vaccines in the past, ask your doctor if you should take this. And each vaccination site is prepared for emergencies for those who have allergies they were not aware of. Furthermore, until they have more data, some neurologists are not giving these vaccines to their patients if they specifically have Multiple Sclerosis or Transverse Myelitis. If you or a family member has either of those conditions, be sure to follow your neurologist’s guidance.

• I’m reading about mutations of this in other parts of the world, will this still work on those? They will be studying any possible new strains, but most of the scientific community are optimistic that these vaccines will also be effective for these new strains. And if this does end up requiring an annual booster, just as with influenza they will be able to update each strain to adjust to the virus at hand.

• Will these measures last forever? No, not at all. Once enough have taken it, we can all watch as the pandemic will be at a close and we can resume our usual filthy habits of touching doorknobs and elevator buttons and then biting our nails without washing our hands first. Not recommending that, but whatever that norm was for you, for better or worse, will return when enough of the country and world has been vaccinated.

So please, my plea to my friends and family and strangers reading this, regardless of your politics, regardless of your mistrust of rabble rousers on both sides of the political fence, regardless of how directly you have or have not been affected by COVID-19, please remember that unless you are a Luddite or Amish, you do trust technology on a daily basis; don’t let the misinformation from friends, memes and random articles cause you to cloud your judgment. Eradicate those seeds of doubt that have been sprinkled by social media on a daily basis by armchair scientists and anti-vaxxers. You trust us health care providers to help your families when they are sick, most of us are taking it ourselves when available, please encourage everyone around you to get vaccinated, and trust the science. I sure do.

Boaz Hepner grew up in LA in Pico/Robertson and now lives here with his wife and baby girl. Thus, the neighborhood is very important to him. He helped clean up the area by adding the dozens of trash cans that can still be seen from Roxbury to La Cienega. When he is not working as Registered Nurse in Santa Monica, he can be found with his wife and daughter enjoying his passions: his multitude of friends, movies, poker and traveling.