There’s an article that blew up in my social media feed today called ‘I’m sorry, but it’s too late’: Alabama doctor on treating unvaccinated, dying COVID patients. I’m going to quote a bit from the article and share some thoughts.
Some quotes:
“I’m admitting young healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections,…One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.
“I hug their family members and I tell them the best way to honor their loved one is to go get vaccinated and encourage everyone they know to do the same.
“They cry. And they tell me they didn’t know. They thought it was a hoax. They thought it was political. They thought because they had a certain blood type or a certain skin color they wouldn’t get as sick. They thought it was ‘just the flu’. But they were wrong. And they wish they could go back. But they can’t. So they thank me and they go get the vaccine. And I go back to my office, write their death note, and say a small prayer that this loss will save more lives.
“You kind of go into it thinking, ‘Okay, I’m not going to feel bad for this person, because they make their own choice,’… But then you actually see them, you see them face to face, and it really changes your whole perspective, because they’re still just a person that thinks that they made the best decision that they could with the information that they have, and all the misinformation that’s out there.
“And now all you really see is their fear and their regret. And even though I may walk into the room thinking, ‘Okay, this is your fault, you did this to yourself,’ when I leave the room, I just see a person that’s really suffering, and that is so regretful for the choice that they made.
“I try to be very non-judgmental when I’m getting a new COVID patient that’s unvaccinated, but I really just started asking them, ‘Why haven’t you gotten the vaccine?’ And I’ll just ask it point blank, in the least judgmental way possible…and most of them, they’re very honest, they give me answers. ‘I talked to this person, I saw this thing on Facebook, I got this email, I saw this on the news,’ you know, these are all the reasons that I didn’t get vaccinated.
“And the one question that I always ask them is, did you make an appointment with your primary care doctor and ask them for their opinion on whether or not you should receive the vaccine? And so far, nobody has answered yes to that question.”
That’s heavy. Where to begin?
Maybe I’ll start with my bias. I’m vaccinated. I did a bit of research beforehand, but I didn’t think about it too hard. The echo chambers of my life steered me toward getting the vaccine so I got it. Frankly, I’m also just plain glad to be vaccinated after a year wondering when and how we would crawl out of the pandemic. It’s a relief.
People I love have chosen not to get vaccinated. It’s hard for my wife and me. We want to be angry. We’ve gotten into arguments with people we love. I hate that. It’s really hard. And so I want to be mad.
I think when the anger fades, I’m mostly just sad. Sorrowful might be a better word. I wish I could see eye to eye with the people I love. I would be very sad if someone I loved became seriously ill as a direct result of their decision not to get vaccinated. That would be the absolute worst possible way to be proven right. I don’t want that.
If you’re not vaccinated and have concerns about getting the vaccine or otherwise feel you don’t need it, consider talking to your doctor. If you can, go in person. Meet face to face. It’s not that you’ll get more information when you’re in person—you probably already have plenty of information—but you will get more empathy.
“But then you actually see them, you see them face to face, and it really changes your whole perspective, because they’re still just a person that thinks that they made the best decision that they could with the information that they have…”
Amen. We all need empathy when we’re trying to make difficult decisions about our lives.
I’m absolutely not the best person to try to convince you of why you should get the vaccine. But consider talking to your doctor.