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2/ I didn’t plan on publicly sharing this detail of my life, but I feel like it’s important we as healthcare workers support informed decision-making. A few days ago, I saw a post by a pregnant anesthesiologist that was getting vilified for her decision to get vaccinated.
3/ People, I promise we did not take this decision lightly. As an emergency physician, myself and many other healthcare workers are exposed to covid patients daily. We are either performing or in areas where aerosol-generating procedures are being done.
4/ We care for many sick patients, often with high viral loads. As much as we try to protect ourselves, the reality of our professions is that we are constantly exposed. The faces that we have seen, the deaths we have experienced weigh on us heavily.
5/ With respect to my pregnancy, I’ve generally been pretty conservative. I don’t eat sushi though I love it. I avoid most medications even when they are likely safe. I generally avoid things that would endanger my pregnancy.
6/ This pregnancy did not come along easily and it is one of the most important things in my life. I agonized over the decision to vaccinate for weeks, knowing there are no fetal studies and pregnant women were (and are generally) excluded from the studies.
7/ But I made the decision to do it for me, personally. When I weighed my personal risks (profession, prevalence of covid in my community, outcomes in pregnant women), I decided this was right for me. I don’t think it’s the right choice for everyone.
8/ That’s understandable. I believe, pregnant or not, in providing knowledge and having people make their own informed decisions. We owe it to our patients to empower them with information.
9/9 I really like this decision tool from Bay State Health I got from @EmergentlyCarol. Seek out the information you need to make your own choices and ask for guidance, if you need to. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1amyuWed4XkO5dwyfCKmu72RzaAoNf8u-/view
PS If you feel this is the right decision for you, please consider joining this registry https://redcap.iths.org/surveys/?s=87JFRCL8R8&fbclid=IwAR0q_JtH7BB-AgIHEtPRkv-YiEFowh2dTLpJzhcnR-p9qPuzuqHy6X6beRA to help in the decisions for others who may be in the same boat.
