Taking vaccine is right thing

Ohioans should have full confidence in the government administering vaccines to ward off the novel coronavirus.

As part of the federal program to vaccinate nursing home residents and staff, Ohio facilities are among the first in the nation to receive vaccines through Walgreen’s, CVS, PharmScript and Absolute Pharmacy.

And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention invited Ohio to participate in the scaling up of the federal program.

That means that many Northeast Ohio residents will receive the much needed help to stop the spread of the deadly COVID-19.

In a few days, Northeast Ohio health departments that registered as providers will begin receiving vaccines.

Gov. Mike DeWine outlined Dec. 15 guidance on individuals who should have priority by health departments during Phase 1A.

Local health departments should coordinate the vaccinations of congregate care residents and staff, such as those at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, who are not enrolled in the federal longterm care pharmacy programs or are not registered as providers themselves.

This includes people with developmental disabilities and those with mental health disorders, including substance use disorders, who live in group homes, residential facilities or centers, as well as staff.

In addition, DeWine said local health departments should prioritize vaccinating other health care providers who are not vaccinated by hospitals and health systems and are not enrolled as providers themselves.

These providers could include home health workers, hospice workers, emergency medical services responders and primary care practitioners, free-standing emergency department and pharmacies. This news is so welcoming. But, people will have to believe that the vaccine is safe or they won’t get inoculated.

And we can’t blame some African Americans for remaining cautious, especially in light of what happened with the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.”

According to Tuskegee Institute, the intent of the study was to record the natural history of syphilis in Blacks.

Researchers told the 600 men participating in the study that they were to be treated for “bad blood.”

This term was used locally by people to describe a host of diagnosable ailments including but not limited to anemia, fatigue and syphilis.

Tuskegee Institute said the men were offered what most Blacks could only dream of in terms of medical care and survivors insurance.

But there was an enormous problem: there were no proven treatments for syphilis when the study began.

When penicillin became the standard treatment for the disease in 1947, the medicine was withheld as a part of the treatment for both the experimental group and control group.

President Bill Clinton formally apologized May 16, 1997, on behalf of the United States to victims of the study.

Clinton called it like it was: shameful and racist. That’s not the case here. DeWine unveiled a new public service announcement Dec. 14 featuring four of Ohio’s frontline nurses who are urging Ohioans to get vaccinated.

The nurses also described what it’s like taking care of COVID-19 patients, which can’t be easy.

On Dec. 15, seven Ohio hospitals received their first vaccine shipments, bringing the total number of vaccine doses delivered to the state in two days to 98,475.

Cleveland Clinic and Metro Health Medical Center both received shipments of the vaccines.

Although vaccine supplies currently are limited, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Ohio will continue to receive vaccinations throughout December.

DeWine also said the week of Christmas, Ohio could receive 123,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as well as 201,900 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

The week of New Year’s, the state could receive an additional 148,000 Pfizer vaccines and an additional 89,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

During one of DeWine’s twice weekly coronavirus updates, a number of health care workers received vaccinations Dec. 15 to show that the vaccine is safe.

Dr. Jennifer Wall Forrester, of UC Health, discussed when citizens should call their doctors or go to the hospital if they develop COVID-19 symptoms.

Even with all of this encouraging news, people must not let their guards down.

Ohioans must continue to social distance, wear masks, avoid large gatherings and regularly wash their hands.

In the past weeks, Ohioans were hospitalized at record numbers.

In one day alone, Dec. 15 to be exact, there were 5,296 patients hospitalized throughout the state and 1,311 of them were in intensive care units.

Also that day, Ohio had more patients in intensive care units than it had total for all COVID-19 hospitalized patients during the previous peak last summer.

So, receiving a vaccination is a big part of eradicating this highly contagious and deadly disease.