Regular readers of this blog will know how passionate I feel about the vaccination programme, which I truly believe offers us the most efficient and practical way out of this pandemic and back to a more ‘normal’ way of life.
I’m really proud of the way the NHS has delivered it to so many people so quickly – it has just been the most magnificent achievement and I make no apologies for again saying thank you to everyone who has been involved – and that includes staff but also a huge army of willing and able volunteers. What an amazing thing to have been part of, you should be very proud.
Last week I shared my thoughts on the various vaccines available, their efficacy and also the rigorous testing regime in place to ensure they’re safe. I did this to again reassure local people and our fabulous staff to take it up when it is offered. Please, please, have the vaccine. It is safe and it is effective. It will protect yourself, your family and your friends.
This week I am deploying my colleague Samina Saboor, who is a Practice Educator in the Gynaecology Team at Burnley General Teaching Hospital. You’ll see she is both passionate and persuasive. I hope you will listen and share her views yourself with others – she talks a great deal of sense.
Kevin
Guest Blog: Samina Saboor
Hi, my name is Samina and I am a Practice Educator for Gynaecology Unit working in Burnley General Teaching Hospital.
Like all my colleagues, I have been working very hard since the start of the pandemic, doing fit testing, skills drills and making sure all our staff are safe and implementing changes as part of our response to Covid.
I really wanted to help during this difficult time and decided to take on the training for the COVID vaccination programme and I’m currently helping to vaccinate people two days a week as part of the hospital hub.
I had my first dose of the vaccine in December. I have two young children who are asthmatic. One of my children is clinically vulnerable and in a high risk group.
Underpinning my decision to be vaccinated was to protect my children, my family and everyone around me. I want to be in good health so I can look after my family. I also see that having the vaccine is seeing ‘a light at the end of the tunnel’ and an end to the pandemic.
Unfortunately, my husband had COVID two weeks ago and, whilst he quarantined away from us in the house, I saw what COVID did to him and it wasn’t pleasant. The whole experience of self-isolating for 10 days was an experience in itself.
Myself and my children felt very alone and scared, we felt like our freedom had been taken away, but I used this time to educate my children the importance of why we had to self-isolate and the implication it can have.
In reflection, I do not know why I hadn’t caught COVID from my husband. It could be the fact that we have a strict protocol at home where we all practice regular hand hygiene or it may be that I had the vaccine. I would like to think it was both!
I have also had very close people to me that have sadly passed away due to COVID. From elderly to as young as age 35! The fact that I was unable to attend the funeral and gathering due to lockdown and restrictions has made it hard for me to grieve and pay my respects. And anyone from the BAME background will understand that part of the grieving process is having the whole community around you, joining in religious rituals help you get over the loss of a loved one.
I live in a very tight knit community and I often volunteer to help out in various activities and projects. Since the introduction of the vaccine I have heard numerous people in the community portray the vaccine as a bad thing. One common myth is ‘it contains a chip and you will be tracked’ another is ‘it will kill you and that’s what they want’.
This angers me, and I often find myself arguing with some of my family members about the importance of the vaccine and how serious COVID is. I haven’t given up on them, I have tried to educate them, explain research findings and the fact that I have been vaccinated and it hasn’t killed me has helped with some of them changing their thinking. I actually posted a picture of me being vaccinated on my Facebook page to build everyone’s confidence.
I captioned it as ‘the vaccinator has been vaccinated’ and I got many positive comments, however it’s a shame the whole community are not on Facebook to see.
My mission is to reach out to everyone especially in the BAME community from all ages, to educate them and promote the vaccine and to bust all the myths going around. I want to give them the confidence and the ability to make an informed choice once the information has been given to them.
Please, if you hear people talking about the vaccine correct any myths in the same way I have. You can read more about the facts if you need them here. Encourage people in your family or community to have their jab, reassure them it is safe and the right thing to do.
I will be at the hospital hub proudly administering the vaccine for some time to come and I would love to see you there!
Samina