Appalled at nurse who dismisses vaccine

As a practicing registered nurse, who has worked as a nurse for 34 years, I am beyond appalled at Jennifer Semrow’s choice (Aug. 31 Dan Haar column, “Defiant nurse ‘willing to lose my job’ over COVID vaccine mandate.” I am also curious to know where she went to nursing school. To get into college you must provide proof of vaccination for measles, or get a blood test to check for antibodies. At the hospital where I worked you had to get a TB test, you also had to take a drug test.

What does this nurse not understand about COVID-19? Does she not read the newspapers? Does she not understand the incredible strain that her fellow nurses around the country are under, caring for very sick patients with COVID. Does she know that 99 percent of the ICU patients with COVID are unvaccinated? Does she understand that by not being vaccinated she is allowing COVID to evolve into a more deadly disease, not to mention the risk of infecting her patients! Being a nurse means you understand the concept of public health, which this nurse clearly does not. Public health means we all need to be vaccinated for the good of the country, and to stop this pandemic. It’s not about the individual, it’s about our common good. You mention that she is a single mother, did she get her children vaccinated? You cannot attend school unless you are.

The Texas nurse should understand that infection does not give one as robust an immunity to COVID as vaccination.

No health care worker should be unvaccinated, if they are ,they should find another profession. As for being Irish, I regret to inform Ms. Semrow that Ireland’s vaccination rate is 90 percent!

Jalna Jaeger, BSN RN

Norwalk