By Bebie Rantalla, BSN, Certified Concierge Care Advisor
As a mom of a child diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, with an elder mother in-law, and having family members with underlying conditions while working in the medical field for over 18 years, it was a straight answer – Yes! It was essential for me to get it as soon as it was available to the public. There are a lot of questions, fears, myths, and political as well as religious beliefs that prevent many from getting the vaccine. One thing that is very important is to educate yourself. Do your research with reliable sources, talk to your doctor and outweigh the side effects/benefits of getting the vaccine. This is the time to work as a whole and consider the people around you and the community you live in.
COVID-19 will be around for many years into the future.
Benefits of COVID-19 Vaccination:
- Protecting yourself and the people around you against severe illness and death from COVID -19
- Protecting children while research continues to test the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in children under 12
- It will keep you from getting seriously ill if you do get COVID-19
- Reduces the risk of people spreading the virus
- Keeping hospitalization rates at the level our health care system can manage and prevent it from collapsing
- Reducing the need for lockdowns in the future, a chance to get back to normal and likely ditch the mask
COVID-19 vaccine is an important tool to help us end this pandemic. Population immunity makes it hard for the disease to spread from person to person. We are still learning how well COVID-19 vaccines protect people with weakened immune systems and how long it can provide protection to all. If you have a medical condition or are taking medicines that weaken your immune system, you should talk to your healthcare provider.
As a senior advisor, it is important for me to know that this is the best defense against COVID-19 including delta and other variants, in addition to infection control and have a peace of mind that I am doing all I can to protect everyone, especially the seniors in our community.
