Virus vaccine distributed at OLOL

Excitement, tempered by a pinch of uncertainty and a splash of concern, briefly overwhelmed Sophia Solomon.

For the past 10 months Solomon, Senior Director of Nursing at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Center in Baton Rouge, has witnessed firsthand COVID-19’s carnage. She has watched patients suffer, and even die, alone, minus the comfort of family and friends.
She has helped console and counsel her nursing staff, who have endured professional challenges they could have never imagined.

Finally, the moment she had so eagerly anticipated but was not sure would ever come, had arrived. Only minutes away from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, Solomon’s emotions began to surge, perhaps a summation of what has been such a tumultuous year.

“I was excited; I felt emotional, almost to the point where I can’t believe this is really here,” she said. “I felt like I wanted to cry a little bit but I wanted to hold it together.

“As soon as I got the injection, I had a sense of relief. I felt blessed to be a part of it.”

Solomon was the third person at OLOL to receive the vaccine on Dec. 16, and similar to so many others, including members of her own nursing staff and even some, she had her own reservations.

Nationally, some questions have arisen about the vaccine’s effectiveness and potential side effects, creating hesitancy and even doubt for some about receiving the injection.

Solomon said her concerns were allayed after speaking with Dr. Katie O’Neal, an infectious disease specialist on staff at OLOL and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Infectious Diseases at LSU’s School of Medicine.

O’Neal explained to OLOL’s medical leaders that the process of developing the vaccine was not done in haste, as some have indicated, but in fact had been ongoing for about 15 years.

O’Neal said the vaccine is a two-step process, with the first injection being the body receiving the shot but likely not reacting. However, any reaction would be immediate, within the first 15 to 30 minutes, so OLOL physicians were on site to address those reactions.

The second injection is the body actually making antibodies to fight off the virus, and Solomon learned some people might briefly experience a low-grade temperature or flu like symptoms. She said O’Neal recommended staff members have the opportunity to take off the day after receiving the injection as a precaution.

“It really helped me to make the decision for myself, and yes, I felt comfortable,” said Solomon, who had no side effects other than a bit of soreness from the vaccine.

Despite the assurances, not all medical professionals at OLOL have elected to receive the vaccine. Dr. Richard Vath, chief executive officer for the Franciscan Health System, respects those decisions but believes that over time, as more people receive the vaccine and suffer no side effects, people will become less fearful.

He said people are falling into what he describes as three groups. The first group is medical professionals who might be a bit skeptical because the vaccine is something they are not used to; the second group is mostly compromised of younger individuals who believe they are not at risk and don’t believe they can get any serious complications or disease and are not sure if they want to even receive the shot.

“There is a third group, and this is where I fall. We’ve never seen anything this effective in the history of vaccines,” Vath said. “Because of the side effects being so minimal, it was an easy decision for me.”

Thanks to someone who was scheduled not showing up to receive the vaccine, Vath, who is in one of the high risk categories, was able to receive the shot, on Dec. 16. He said the soreness he experienced was less than when he gets the flu vaccine.

“Some people will still be fearful of it,” he said, but added he and staff members are exploring ways to assure individuals who might feel less comfortable as to the safety of the vaccine.

Solomon, who manages several hundred nurses, nursing assistants and clerical personnel, was adamant about setting an example to her employees about not being afraid. After receiving the injection, she said several team members told her “we trust you and we trust you that you will tell us is if you don’t feel well.”

“I told them is it is truly a personal decision, something you have to determine what is best for you,” Solomon said. “I am an African American female. I have a lot of minority employees. COVID has not done well in our community well.”

She has explained nurses face risks daily but the vaccine can reduce the chance of severe illness and even death.

“I let them know I am not pressuring them but I do encourage them to get the vaccine not only for yourself but for your family members,” she said. “I can tell (that comment) has touched some people. I think just by example, (by receiving the injection) has helped my team members.”

Solomon said the vaccine has offered hope that family gatherings and other such events may soon be on the horizon. She added the caveat that before a gathering of any type, including family events, the new norm, once the vaccine is widely available to the general public,  might be to ask those invited, “Did you get the vaccine?”

Vath said he is hoping the vaccine will become widely available perhaps as early as late March and believes by the suummer “we will begin to see more returning of normality and maybe in the fall before it is large scale.”