“It’s autonomy, but it’s hard to reject”… Medical staff’heartache’ over corona vaccination

Input 2021.03.04 06:00

Since the domestic vaccination started recently, some medical staff who have been targeted for vaccination have been suffering from heartache over whether or not to be vaccination. According to the measures of the quarantine authorities, the medical staff can decide whether or not to receive the vaccination, but if they refuse to receive the vaccination, they may receive a keen eye for giving up their duties as a medical professional.

“There are some medical staff who want to postpone vaccination because of vaccination anxiety these days,” said Mr. A, an infectious medicine specialist at a university hospital in Seoul, on the 3rd. “(Vaccination) is completely autonomous, but you have to take care of the patient. We are in a dilemma that cannot be avoided,” he said.

At the same time, he confessed his thoughts about the anxiety caused by side effects after vaccination. Mr. A said, “There is no problem in theory, so we introduced the vaccine, but it is true that there is still a lot of concern about the side effects of the vaccine.”

The quarantine authorities categorized medical staff as priority targets for the corona vaccine, but left it to the medical staff to decide whether or not to receive the actual vaccine. Earlier on the 22nd of last month, Chung Eun-kyung, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said through a regular briefing, “There is no plan to make vaccinations obligatory, and as of now, there is no plan to claim the right to indemnify even if it is spread to others.”

Mr. A was also worried about the side effects of the vaccine, but he said that he received the corona vaccine last week after contemplating the nature of the work that he had to face patients. He confessed that he was unwilling because of vague anxiety, but he could not ignore the social gaze. In some cases, he was conscious of the criticism that’if a doctor who should take the lead in coronavirus quarantine refuses to be vaccinated, which patient can receive medical treatment with confidence without worrying about infection’.

Mr. A also mentioned the symptoms of’chills’ he had recently experienced. Mr. A said, “I had no pain right after getting the vaccine, but when I woke up the next day, my hands and feet shriveled because I was dizzy and the whole body was cold,” he said. “After about half a day, these symptoms disappeared.” The vaccine that Mr. A got hit was a product made by Pfizer.

Mr. A said, “Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is distributed only to medical staff who directly treat corona patients, and the rest of the medical staff are vaccinating the AstraZeneca vaccine first.” “There are many doctors and nurses who postpone thinking that if you wait, you can get the Pfizer vaccine.” He added.

In addition to Mr. A, there are many medical staff who are worried about vaccination. On the one hand, I have anxiety about the vaccine, but I cannot avoid vaccination because of the social responsibility to take care of the patient.

In particular, there are many stories that medical staff who have personal diseases such as diabetes or obesity, or who are in special circumstances such as pregnant women, have a lot of anxiety about vaccination. Kim Mo (28), a nurse working at a nursing hospital in Daegu, said, “I was planning to have a child this year, but I’m actually a little worried if I can get the vaccine.” I’m scared to receive it, and I’m sick of it,” he said.

Park Mo (43), a nursing assistant working at a nursing hospital in Gyeonggi Province, also said, “I am a little worried about vaccination because I am suffering from metabolic syndrome, but I can see that it doesn’t work.” If you don’t want to receive it, you will have to get the vaccine unconditionally.”

Kim Bong-young, professor of infectious medicine at Hanyang University, said, “It is true that the development of vaccines has not been properly verified as to what side effects are present in diseases or pregnant women.” I think it seems,” he said.