A Vaccine Educator’s Personal Update

A first for me, Natalia’s school, Intiwasi, asked me to give a Zoom discussion/Q&A about COVID, and it went really well! We covered everything from boosters, to natural immunity, to the upcoming vaccine for children.

I certainly prefer my in-person teachings at the hospital to Zoom, but I’m really glad that the entire staff and many of the parents were able to be a part of it.

Oh, and while I’m on the topic, since I haven’t written anything about this for a while, here’s my personal vaccine update/tidbits:

• Out of 24 patients I’ve talked to who weren’t vaccinated, 20 got it after we spoke. I’ll take the 83% success rate, even if I wish it was unanimous.

• Numerous friends have asked me to talk to their family members, friends and coworkers who had fears of vaccination, and all but one got it or are going to shortly. (To be very clear, I never cold call anyone, and refuse to. I tell people I will talk to someone who WANTS to talk to me and have a chance to ask questions, and some people never make the call.)

• On Thursday I saw one of my favorite restaurant owners in LA, and he told me that my articles were one of the main reasons he chose to get vaccinated, because he “knows me and trusts me, and they made a lot of sense”.  This blew me away.

• I’ve met with the CNO of Saint John’s and he has guaranteed me that sometime before the end of the year we will create some sort of education clinic for me to educate the nurses in the busiest parts of the hospital. (This is purely for education purposes so they can be better nurses for their patients; they are already vaccinated.)

I say all of this not merely to pat myself on the back, but to put it out there that I continue to be here for others who have (non-trolling) questions. Even after a long day at work I’ve had hour-long conversations with strangers, with no regrets. And I want to ensure that anyone out there who has a school, hospital or company which could find it useful to give its employees, families, friends a chance to ask questions, I am happy to be that person for you.

Boaz Hepner grew up in LA in Pico/Robertson and now lives here with his wife and daughter. 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 a Registered Nurse in Santa Monica, he can be found with his family enjoying his passions: his multitude of friends, movies, poker and traveling.