Happy New Year Hilltoppers!

As challenging as 2020 was, we now begin 2021 with some good news.  We have our vaccine dates for our assisted living sites.  The LAP program is scheduled the 2nd week of January and The Fountains and Commons are scheduled the 3rd week.

My email a couple of weeks ago asked you to research information on the COVID vaccine.  Today, I wanted to update you from a more personal point of view.  I have chosen to get the vaccine just as soon as my turn comes around and I hope you’ll consider doing the same. Here are a few things that have led me to make the decision I have:

  • This is a new vaccine, not a new technology. The vaccine relies on mRNA which has been researched and studied for over 30 years. It has been around a long time and the COVID-19 pandemic is the first time the funding and necessity has pushed this type of vaccine to the top of the options list. Before the focus shifted to COVID, it has been well researched for many ailments from the flu to cancer treatments.
  • This vaccine works. Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines have been shown to be 95% effective.  The protection this vaccine provides has proven statistically significant across all races, age groups (over 16), and to those both healthy and with chronic illness alike. Each vaccine takes two injections to reach that immunity level.
  • The disease is most likely worse than the vaccine. When weighing the risks of the immunization, it must be weighed against the risks of the disease you are trying to prevent. We know people are dying from this disease and many of those are in the same demographics as our clients and residents. Yes, most individuals are recovering just fine, but many infected develop lingering symptoms, like chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, weakness, “brain fog,” and prolonged loss of taste/smell. So far, they cannot predict who gets the lingering effects, but dealing with the known mild side effects of the vaccine such as muscle soreness, fatigue, headaches, and to an even smaller population, a few days of fever and chills, is far preferable in my opinion than the risks that come with COVID.
  • The community benefits of the vaccine are clear. Estimations, based upon other viruses, are that society will need to reach up to 70% immunity through either illness or vaccine to reach “herd immunity.” At our current pace, if COVID were to run its course through Mesa County it would take over a decade to reach that immunity level. If this is true for COVID-19, and with only 6% of our county’s population on record as having the disease, most of us will need to receive the vaccine to end this pandemic.

It is up to you to decide whether to accept an immunization when you get the chance. If you, like me, are tired of the restrictions; tired of the psychological impacts on society; tired of businesses and schools being constrained; tired of our assisted living residents limiting normal services and visitors, then the choice is clearer.

When it is my turn, I will be taking the COVID-19 immunization shot, and I recommend you seriously consider it too!

Together, we got this,

-Mike