Two and a half years later and the Covid-19 pandemic still rages on in our lives. While the rate of infection is not at the same level as it was at its height, the fact remains that individuals continue to become infected and the unvaccinated continue to die and face severe illness from this virus and hospitalization at higher rates than the vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy and fears surrounding the approved mRNA vaccines from both Pfizer and Moderna as well as the emergency use authorized recombinant viral vector-based vaccine from Janssen remain at the forefront of those who refuse to get vaccinated as well as boosted. Doctors, public health officials, and scientists all fear that the continued refusal of those that are unvaccinated will continue to lead to more cases of the viruses globally as well as more variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerging, thus leading to more complications with treatment and potential impacts on lessening the effectiveness of the approved vaccines that we have available for preventing infection by the virus. Although our knowledge of the virus, how it is transmitted, its impact on the body, and how it can be treated and prevented has grown tremendously, there is still a lot of misinformation that continues to be spread over social media networks, message boards, YouTube, and on the Internet at large. Given the long ranging effect that the pandemic has had and can potentially continue to have on our healthcare system, economy, families, and society, the collaborative efforts of healthcare personnel and public health professionals will be essential to helping us successfully navigate and manage life in a post-pandemic world. Using the knowledge you have attained in this course, please draft a discussion board response addressing the prompts below.
1. What measures would you take to convince a patient who is hesitant about the Covid-19 vaccine to get vaccinated?
2. What are some concepts that you have learned in this course that you would use to support your case to convince your patient to re-consider their stance on becoming vaccinated?
3. If your patient demanded antibiotics as a prophylaxis for Covid-19, what would you say to him or her to discourage them from wanting to use these medications? What would you recommend to them instead?
4. What would you state to a patient that stated that Covid-19 was just a cold?
5. Do you think we will ever eliminate the SARS-CoV-2 virus OR will we just learn to live with it just as we do Influenza and other viruses?
6. How would you navigate respecting a differing viewpoint youre your patients regardless of your own thoughts regarding the Covid-19 vaccine?
Please WATCH AND READ the following resources PRIOR to BEGINNING the assignment:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html?s_cid=11759:cdc%20covid%20vaccine:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY22
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid19-vaccine-hesitancy-12-things-you-need-to-know
https://www.fda.gov/media/146305/download
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy-10-tips-talking-patients
Coronavirus Replication Cycle I Animated Tutorial
Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy
Vaccine hesitancy
