The COVID-19 Vaccine Dilemma
What are the characteristics of the coronavirus? COVID-19 is easily transmissible and can have rather grave complications, affecting several body systems and increasing the chances of mortality. The dilemma of whether to use a vaccine is especially agonizing for healthcare employees, who have professional obligations, personal opinions, and potential medical reasons for refusing to vaccinate themselves. Making it a requirement might be beneficial for those who lack any contraindications and their patients, despite the accompanying ethical issues.
Reasons to Enforce Vaccination
In addition to affecting the respiratory system, coronavirus disease can cause numerous complications. This increases the risks to the patient’s health. COVID-19 can affect almost any organ in the body. Cardiovascular diseases that can be caused by coronavirus include myocarditis, arrhythmias, and heart failure. Therefore, an unvaccinated doctor working in cardiology will contribute to their patients’ mortality even if COVID-19 is not the direct cause. Homeostasis is also affected by the disease, leading to lymphopenia, coagulopathy, and inflammation, all of which can be particularly dangerous for people with specific conditions.
Furthermore, the neurologic system can be impacted by COVID-19, causing acute cerebrovascular disease, Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis, and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, among other complications. Although they are seen in most patients regardless of their prior medical history, those with it will have more acute manifestations with a decreased chance of improvement. Lastly, COVID-19 is associated with lung damage, inflammation, and alveoli reduction, threatening the lives of respiratory care receivers. In addition, medical workers must interact especially often with potentially sick patients, so their risk of infection is high. Overall, healthcare employees who refuse to vaccinate put various patients at risk, even in unrelated fields.
COVID-19 also threatens medical personnel, many of whom have died during the pandemic. There have been many health workers testing positive in Italy, and there has been a noticeable death rate among them. Consequently, there is a decrease in specialists to deal with the disease, forcing hospitals to hire retired doctors and nurses. The same case was observed in other countries. The loss of employees during the crisis period is unacceptable.
Reasons for Refusing Compulsory Vaccination
Other than contraindications, which are valid reasons not to be vaccinated, the biggest barrier to mandatory vaccination of healthcare employees is ethical issues associated with the act. Some question the existing vaccines’ effectiveness or lack sufficient information, and forcing health workers to perform the procedure is theoretically a violation of personal rights. Moreover, a group of employees may refuse vaccination for religious reasons. However, it is an issue of whether personal beliefs are more important than the public good, and healthcare employees often must sacrifice the former.
Assisting Those Who Can Not Be Vaccinated for Valid Reasons
Those who cannot be vaccinated for legitimate reasons may still help. They can hold remote consultations from home and educate aspiring specialists who will replace them in the hospital setting, as some of their duties cannot be fully replicated. As COVID-19 is likely to persist, they will have to ultimately decide if healthcare is for them as similar situations may occur in the future. Teachers and other person-oriented professions had to face the same problem, so health workers are not alone.
Summary
COVID-19 has forced people to embrace new lifestyles and adopt strict rules.
Employees must be aware of the danger posed by the disease and undergo any procedures that will benefit the patient.
They are more aware of its effectiveness and necessity than anyone else.
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