Still considering getting that that jab in your arm?
A veteran-led disaster response organization and the Veterans Coalition for Vaccination recently held a forum to address and combat COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the veteran community.
The COVID-19 Town Hall for Veterans, hosted by Team Rubicon on Facebook, featured veterans answering questions about the vaccine.
“It’s reasonable for people to have questions and concerns about the vaccine,” said Dr. David Callaway, Team Rubicon’s chief medical officer. The Navy veteran also serves as director of the Division of Operational and Disaster Medicine at the Carolinas Medical Center, Atrium Health.
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Recent polling shows that about 25 percent of the population may choose not to be vaccinated against the virus, which has caused the deaths of nearly 600,000 Americans in just over a year.
One of the concerns people have about the vaccine was the speed in which it was developed. They worry that some side effects may not be fully understood because not enough time was taken to fully study the vaccines.
However, Dr. Callaway points the the robust vetting the vacccines underwent and says they are safe and very effective at preventing hospitalizaton and death.
“The science is very sound and the vaccines are very effective,” he said.
The two-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have efficacy ratings in the 90 percentile range, noted Callaway.
Callaway, who treated COVID-19 patients in the emergency room, was among the first in North Carolina to get the vaccine.
“I can’t be a good father if I’m in the ER intubated myself,” he noted.
Getting vaccinated can also improve your mental health, Callaway said. As of May 13, vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks in public – outdoors or indoors. In addition, they don’t need to maintain social distance. Vaccinated persons can also travel again, domestically, or internationally.
He also said that conversations about the vaccine with those who don’t “trust the system” should be kept respectful.
So far, the Veterans Coalition for Vaccination has set up vaccination sites in more than 95 areas across the country. During an AAPI festival in Anchorage, Team Rubicon and members of the VCV even launched a series of pop-up clinics at local shopping centers.
In St. Louis, Veterans, local medical personnel, and the fire department went door-to-door to vaccinate residents in more than 130 homes. A mobile vaccination unit that traveled Nevada with veteran volunteers helped get nearly 18,000 people vaccinated. This included members of the Washtoe, Fort Mojave and Paiute Tribes.
To learn more about Team Rubicon visit here. To learn more about the Veterans Coalition for Vaccinatin, visit here.
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Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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