Tag: COVID-19 vaccine resistance

‘A tipping point’: Government officials, health groups move to require coronavirus vaccines for workers

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New vaccine mandates are being rolled out at VA, in California, New York City, the Mayo Clinic, among other places.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, which runs one of the nation’s largest health systems, announced Monday it would mandate coronavirus vaccines for its front-line workers, becoming the first federal agency to do so and signaling what some experts said could be a national pivot to such requirements.

Faced with the explosive growth of a new virus variant, the state of California and the city of New York gave workers a choice: Get vaccinated or face weekly testing. And an array of hospitals from coast to coast, including the prestigious Mayo Clinic, declared they would require staff to get vaccinated, following a joint plea from the nation’s major medical groups.

Health-care leaders say the moves represent an escalation of the nation’s fight against the coronavirus — the first concerted effort to mandate that tens of millions of Americans get vaccinated, more than seven months after regulators authorized the shots and as new cases rip through the nation. VA’s mandate applies to more than 100,000 front-line workers, New York City’s applies to about 45,000 city employees and contractors, and California’s applies to more than 2.2 million state employees and health workers. Continue reading.

Doctor reveals what she tells dying COVID patients who beg for a vaccine after thinking the pandemic was a hoax

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An Alabama doctor has revealed heartbreaking details about her recent conversations with patients dying from COVID-19, amid a surge in cases caused by the Delta variant in the state with the lowest vaccination rate in the nation.

“I’m admitting young healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID,” Dr. Brytney Cobia wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.

“A few days later when I call time of death, I hug their family members and I tell them the best way to honor their loved one is to go get vaccinated and encourage everyone they know to do the same,” Cobia added. “They cry. And they tell me they didn’t know. They thought it was a hoax. They thought it was political. They thought because they had a certain blood type or a certain skin color they wouldn’t get as sick. They thought it was ‘just the flu’. But they were wrong. And they wish they could go back. But they can’t. So they thank me and they go get the vaccine. And I go back to my office, write their death note, and say a small prayer that this loss will save more lives.” Continue reading.

‘It’s devastating’: Unvaccinated woman thought she could ‘escape’ COVID-19 – now she says she’ll ‘never be the same’

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After a rough battle with COVID-19, a North Carolina woman who was unvaccinated is now urging people to get the shot, 13News reports.

“I thought I was healthy enough and that I could escape it,” said Linda Edwards, who contracted the virus about three weeks ago. “Really, it was the most frightening thing I’ve ever been through in my life.” 

“It was devastating. I had no dreams of ever staying that long. It’s the longest I’ve ever been in the hospital,” she said of her two-week hospital stay. “I was there hoping and praying my son was okay here because he had tested positive, too.” Continue reading.

A number of Republican lawmakers are saying no to COVID-19 vaccines

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Republicans are at odds over the wisdom and efficacy of taking the COVID-19 vaccine, undermining national efforts to defeat the coronavirus and reinforcing the views of GOP base voters already reluctant to participate in the ramped-up inoculation program.

Although the top GOP leaders, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), were quickly vaccinated in December — and encouraged the public to follow suit — a number of high-profile rank-and-file members say they intend to ignore the advice. 

Some of those holdouts say they’re concerned the vaccine poses a greater health threat than COVID-19 itself. Others have indicated they don’t want to jump ahead of constituents in line for vaccines of their own. And still others note that, because they contracted COVID-19 over the past year, they have the antibodies to fight the disease in the future, precluding the need to be inoculated.  Continue reading.

White House would welcome Trump urging supporters to get vaccinated

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The Biden administration on Monday indicated it would welcome former President Trump getting more involved in vaccine outreach efforts, but signaled it would spend its time investing in local doctors and community leaders who might convince skeptical conservatives to get the shot.

“If former President Trump woke up tomorrow and wanted to be more vocal about the safety and efficacy of the campaign, of the vaccine, certainly we’d support that,” White House press secretary Psaki said at a briefing with reporters.

“Every other living former president … has participated in public campaigns,” she added. “They did not need an engraved invitation to do so. He may decide he should do that. If so, great. But there are a lot of different ways to engage to reach out to ensure that people of a range of political support and backing know the vaccine is safe and effective.” Continue reading.