Nightingales Golden Care Manager Ben Chudley explains why he hopes as many staff and clients as possible will take up the offer of the free coronavirus vaccine, as soon as it become available to them.
As we write this, Ben is currently sat in his home office with his 5day old baby on his lap. As well as help the organisation navigate its way through the ever changing landscape of delivering care in the time of coronavirus, Ben, like everyone else has been keeping an eye on the safety of his own family.
“This year has been the year, when we suddenly felt really human.” “Life, death, illness, its always there but this year it been absolutely at the front of our minds all day everyday.” “Whilst having a new baby has been an absolute blessing, pregnancy; birth; having young children and a newborn at home its only adding to that need we all have to keep everyone safe.”
“I’ve had a lot of people ask me already if I will be getting the new Coronavirus vaccine if and when one become available and obviously I’ve given it a lot of thought.” “I can completely understand why people are anxious about making that kind of decision, and as Health and Social Care workers we will probably have to make it sooner than other members of the public.” “But absolutely, yes I will be getting my vaccination as soon as it becomes available and I hope everyone else, who is able will get theirs too.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is clear where it stands on the role that vaccines will play in helping to find a way out of the Coronavirus pandemic.
‘Vaccines save millions of lives each year. Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defenses – the immune system – to recognize and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target. If the body is exposed to those disease-causing germs later, the body is immediately ready to destroy them, preventing illness.’ ‘
“It looks as though I will be the only one in my household who will be able to be vaccinated, what with my children being very small and my wife being excluded due to breastfeeding.” “And that makes it even more important that I get mine done.” “I’m the person who is in contact with the outside world more, and although I am always careful, I’m more likely to be the person who brings something nasty home.” “By getting that jab, I won’t just be protecting myself, I will be protecting the people around me from getting ill.”
“I know that people are worried about the safety of the vaccine and if there will be any possible side effects and are potentially hearing all kinds of conflicting information, but I would encourage them to read information from a reliable sources such as The World Heath Organisation (WHO) about the safety trials that vaccines go through before they are approved.”
‘Together with governments, vaccine manufacturers, scientists and medical experts, WHO’s vaccine safety programme is constantly helping monitor the safety of vaccine. This helps ensure that vaccines are safe for you and your family. (WHO, 2020)’
