Vaccinated Life

The COVID-19 numbers in our community continue to trend in the right direction, leaving me feeling (cautiously) optimistic!  Today we discharged our only patient from the COVID unit, which is the first time in over a a year that our team is not currently taking care of any individuals with COVID-19.  I know it's only a matter of time before another patient is admitted from our region, but we'll celebrate this success while we can.  I'm really proud of my community for aggressive masking, social distancing, limiting of social gatherings, and travel restrictions, but a lot of our progress also has to do with vaccinations.  While we grieve the loss of half a million Americans, we also celebrate the successful rollout of vaccines in our country.  Over 22% of New Mexicans are fully vaccinated, and Santa Fe is level turquoise for the first time, allowing movement through the step-by-step reopening plan!  Part of me is still hesitant to believe that the end is in sight, and I do fear another surge if people are getting too eager and careless with masking and distancing.  While vaccinated individuals may start to change behavior, those who are not yet vaccinated should continue the practices we have all adopted all winter long.  I also fear that those who have already recovered from the virus will become ill again as we see more frightening variants and as antibodies wear off.  But now that I am vaccinated and many of my friends and family members are covered as well, I do feel a weight lifted as I think of the new life we can start to live.  

I saw friends IN PERSON, INDOORS for the first time in almost a year!  I ate at a restaurant for the first time in a very long time.  I took my mask off around my other vaccinated friends, enjoying each other's SMILES and LAUGHTER, and hugging each other for the first time in a year.  I sat in a hot tub with vaccinated friends.  I attended an in-person yoga class.  I can't wait to see some friends' kiddos in person very soon!  My girls will get to see their grandparents in person, without masks, in the very near future!  I feel reassured by the CDC guidelines that vaccinated people may safely gather together.  I might get a haircut, or a pedicure.  I might go shopping for something that's not essential, instead of ordering online.  I could order a drink at a bar.  I bought my first plane ticket in 18 months.  I'm entertaining the idea of in-person events this summer or fall for some of the professional organizations and committees I'm on.  I don't know if I'll go to a theater or a concert or a large gathering for a very long time, and I believe that we're going to be wearing masks for months or even years to come (or maybe forever in the healthcare industry), but I do look forward to connecting with people in meaningful ways, and not through a computer screen.  

I feel very strongly that the only way we can return to normal is for everyone who is offered the vaccine to say yes, to sign up, to get the vaccine, for themselves and for others.  There's a lot of misinformation because early on the experts were telling people to continue to be vigilant, to wear a mask, to not change their behavior in a big way, which unfortunately led a lot of people to think that the vaccine doesn't make a difference or that it's not worth it for them.  But if we could all just get the vaccine then maybe we WILL be able to change our behavior, to live more confidently and feel more safe, to approach normalcy again.

This new normalcy of vaccinated life also presents some ethics dilemmas around how to balance rational risk-taking with caution, and how to create some sense of normalcy and personal freedom while also protecting others.  For my friends who are vaccinated, our lives are returning to normal at a faster rate than those who are still waiting for the call, which can leave people feeling left behind and excluded from a club.  It's also complicated to support social gatherings or going out to eat when vaccines are not yet universally available, and knowing that the virus is still spreading rapidly in non-vaccinated communities.  We also don't know how long our immunity will last after vaccination, and when we will need to get another dose.  Will it be annually?  How rapidly will the virus change?  

And while I have less fear and anxiety about my own health, I still worry about my kids.  Who knows how soon it will be safe for kids to get the vaccine, and what of long-term effects kids may have if they get sick with COVID-19?  There are too many unknowns.  This entire year has been defined by struggling to balance individual freedom and quality of life and stimulating the economy with protecting our community and being vigilant.  In the meantime, Ady will continue to mask up for school and park dates, and minimize our interactions with anyone who's not vaccinated, but we do look forward to welcoming visitors to our home for the first time since last March.  And I know there will be judgment from every direction.  Some people would not approve of welcoming visitors from out of state (even if vaccinated), and some probably judge me for making my family wait this long to come see my children, but everyone needs to make a decision about what's best for their family.  I'm almost crying tears of joy and relief thinking about our family members coming to visit!

This is the beginning of a new normal and I look forward to connecting with people and cautiously embracing life again.

A beautiful symbol of optimism in our hospital's garden that can be viewed from the COVID unit.
Hope for our hospital community and for the world.