“A new dichotomy has begun dogging the pandemic discourse. With the rise of the über-transmissible Delta variant, experts are saying you’re either going to get vaccinated, or going to get the coronavirus.
“For some people – a decent number of us, actually – it’s going to be both.”
– Katherine J. Wu, Science Staff Writer at The Atlantic
At one time no, one dreamed of living in a world racked by a global pandemic. Now, that nightmare has become a daily threat to our way of life and our very existence. We all must take precautions and follow important measures to insure our safety and the safety of innocent others. Even with vaccines, we must continue to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The local hospital, Southern Ohio Medical Center recently announced after recommendations from 56 health care organizations including the Ohio Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association – as well as local medical and scientific experts – that it was requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
While the policy does have exceptions, many employees and other community members do not think it should be mandated and are currently protesting the requirement. Even offered a $500 bonus incentive for vaccination, these protesters refused the mandate citing “freedom of choice” as their major objection. They seem unwilling to compromise as they also disagree with SOMC's stipulation that “employees with medical, religious or strongly held belief objections will be eligible for exemptions, but must be tested for COVID-19 twice a week until the virus is no longer considered a cause for concern.”
Causing quite a stir on social media, the vaccine requirement was questioned by those who explained that even vaccinated individuals could get the virus. They held this belief as proof of the ineffectiveness of the shots.
Let's examine the TRUTH about vaccines and the protection they offer.
Yes, CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases reports some people who are fully vaccinated will get COVID-19. Breakthrough infections are expected. COVID-19 vaccines are not 100% effective.
Coronavirus infections are happening among vaccinated people. Since we are not close to defeating the virus, they are going to keep happening. Katherine Wu calls post-vaccination infections “an arithmetic inevitability.” The CDC confirms that “because vaccines are not 100% effective, as the number of people who are fully vaccinated goes up, the number of breakthrough infections will also increase.”
However …
As post-vaccination infections might occasionally turn symptomatic, they aren’t aberrant. And, they aren’t proof that the shots are failing.
“These cases are, on average, gentler and less symptomatic; faster-resolving, with less virus lingering – and, it appears, less likely to pass the pathogen on …
“A breakthrough, despite what it might seem, does not cause our defenses to crumble or even break; it does not erase the protection that’s already been built. Rather than setting up fragile and penetrable shields, vaccines reinforce the defenses we already have, so that we can encounter the virus safely and potentially build further upon that protection.”
(Katherine J. Wu. “Your Vaccinated Immune System Is Ready for Breakthroughs.” The Atlantic. July 26, 2021.)
Read Wu's entire article: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/07/anatomy-of-a-vaccine-breakthrough/619562/
The CDC confirms that fully vaccinated people with a breakthrough infection are less likely to develop serious illness than those who are unvaccinated and get COVID-19. This means they are much less likely to be hospitalized or die than people who are not vaccinated.
According to CDC data, vaccinated individuals are:
8 times less likely to get COVID-19
25 times less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19
25 times less likely to die of COVID-19
(Katie McCallum. “5 Things Vaccinated People Need to Know About Breakthrough Infection.” HoustonMethodist.org. August 17, 2021.)
The analogy of the human body as a castle can be used to describe a breakthrough case. Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona, compares immunization to reinforcing such a stronghold against assault.
Bhattacharya explains …
“Without vaccination, the castle’s defenders have no idea an attack is coming. They might have stationed a few aggressive guard dogs outside, but these mutts aren’t terribly discerning: They’re the system’s innate defenders, fast-acting and brutal, but short-lived and woefully imprecise. They’ll sink their teeth into anything they don’t recognize, and are easily duped by stealthier invaders. If only quarrelsome canines stand between the virus and the castle’s treasures, that’s a pretty flimsy first line of defense. But it’s essentially the situation that many uninoculated people are in.
“Other fighters, who operate with more precision and punch – the body’s adaptive cells – will eventually be roused. Without prior warning, though, they’ll come out in full force only after a weeks-long delay, by which time the virus may have run roughshod over everything it can. At that point, the fight may, quite literally, be at a fever pitch, fueling worsening symptoms.
“Vaccination completely rewrites the beginning, middle, and end of this story. COVID-19 shots act as confidential informants, who pass around intel on the pathogen within the castle walls. With that info, defensive cells can patrol the building’s borders, keeping an eye out for a now-familiar foe. When the virus attempts to force its way in, it will hit “backup layer after backup layer” of defense.”
(Katherine J. Wu. “Your Vaccinated Immune System Is Ready for Breakthroughs.” The Atlantic. July 26, 2021.)
The analogy continues …
“Prepped by a vaccine, immune reinforcements will be marshaled to the fore much faster – within days of an invasion, sometimes much less. Adaptive cells called B cells, which produce antibodies, and T cells, which kill virus-infected cells, will have had time to study the pathogen’s features, and sharpen their weapons against it. While the guard dogs are pouncing, archers trained to recognize the virus will be shooting it down; the few microbes that make their way deeper inside will be gutted by sword-wielding assassins lurking in the shadows. Each stage it has to get past takes a bigger chunk out of the virus. Even if a couple particles eke past every hurdle, their ranks are fewer, weaker, and less damaging.”
(Katherine J. Wu. “Your Vaccinated Immune System Is Ready for Breakthroughs.” The Atlantic. July 26, 2021.)
The virus may be instantly annihilated by the immune cells and antibodies, preventing any infection at all. But, unfortunately, some people’s immune cells might “keep their weapons holstered for too long” – especially true among the elderly and immunocompromised.
Laura Su, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, says, “Even as the virus is raising a ruckus, immune cells and molecules will be attempting to hold their ground, regain their edge, and knock the pathogen back down. Those late-arriving efforts might not halt an infection entirely, but they will still curb the pathogen’s opportunities to move throughout the body, cause symptoms, and spread to someone else. The inhospitality of the vaccinated body to SARS-CoV-2 is what’s given many researchers hope that long COVID, too, will be rarer among the immunized.
The choice isn’t about getting vaccinated or getting infected. It’s about bolstering our defenses so that we are ready to fight an infection from the best position possible – “with our defensive wits about us, and well-armored bodies in tow.”
(Katherine J. Wu. “Your Vaccinated Immune System Is Ready for Breakthroughs.” The Atlantic. July 26, 2021.)
Those who are highly immunocompromised and received either Pfizer or Moderna during their primary vaccine series are also now eligible to receive a third dose of either Pfizer or Moderna.
The hope is that a third shot will increase antibody protection in immunocompromised people,
In addition, everyone should be more cautious when around someone who is immunocompromised, even if the entire group or household is fully vaccinated. Opting to wear a mask and keep your distance is critical. You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting those who are most vulnerable."
(Katie McCallum. “5 Things Vaccinated People Need to Know About Breakthrough Infection.” HoustonMethodist.org. August 17, 2021.)
Those seeking the truth about the need for continued vaccination and the reality of protection offered by the vaccines must strip excuses and unfounded beliefs from reality. Despite their belief in “freedom of choice” and their adamant refusal to vaccinate because contraction of the virus is not fully prevented by vaccination, anti-vaxxers risk threats to themselves and to other vulnerable immunocompromised people. Science clearly outlines risks and rewards.
Research shows that the FDA-authorized vaccines offer protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death against currently circulating variants in the United States.
The Delta variant is more contagious than previous variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. However, studies indicate that the vaccines used in the United States work well against the Delta variant, particularly in preventing severe disease and hospitalization. Overall, if there are more infections with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) there will be more vaccine breakthrough infections. However, the risk of infection, hospitalization, and death are all much lower in vaccinated compared to unvaccinated people.
To close, Healthcare institutions like Southern Ohio Medical Center have a legal and ethical obligation to ensure a safe environment for patients, healthcare workers, and visitors. Vaccination reduces viral transmission and thereby promotes health, enhances patient safety, and provides a sense of security. Healthcare workers have an ethical/moral obligation to provide care for patients and to do no harm; vaccination limits the spread of COVID-19 infection.
Mandating universal vaccination is morally justified because of the consequences: community protection and reduction in virus transmission, resulting in lower rates of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Finally, SOMC employees DO HAVE freedom of choice. Here are their options by September 17 as the requirement stands:
They can be fully vaccinated.
They can agree to be tested for COVID-19 twice a week until the virus is no longer considered a cause for concern.
They can be subject to disciplinary action by the hospital for refusing the requirement.
They can resign.
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