Rolling up my sleeve

 To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question.

The first thing I want to say is that when the vaccine is offered to me, I will roll up my sleeve and get in line.

However, it is a question I have been getting asked by reporters and a question I have been discussing with Healthcare members in Connecticut and around the country, and a question we have been discussing on the Governor’s communications vaccine subcommittee.

There are concerns in the public and within the healthcare community about when one should get the vaccine. These concerns are understandable and must be validated and addressed. The reasons are many, from historical distrust by communities of color who have been victims of government experiments to the speed of the vaccine development.

I understand these concerns and it will take time for all people to feel comfortable and we should give them this time.

I believe it is vital that trusted members of communities, such as healthcare professionals, pastors, union leaders and others, who feel ready to be vaccinated, be willing to do so in a public way. I believe that this will help others become ready (in their own time) for the vaccine.

I also believe that when the public sees doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers being vaccinated, they will feel more comfortable. 

These heroes have seen the worst of the pandemic.

For months upon months they have dealt with the daily death and destruction, they have held hands when family could not be present. 

They have become ill themselves and brought it home to their families.

It has taken an enormous toll on them.

As a retired nurse and a healthcare union leader, my responsibility is to do everything I can to help them, and not ask them to do something I will not do.

So, I will roll up my sleeve and receive my vacination as soon as it is made available to me, hoping for an eventual end to this pandemic.

Be well.