From a local (to me) pulmonary doc. I thought it was worth sharing...
"Dear Paducah –
I have been a pulmonary and critical care physician in this community for 15 years. I love the people of Paducah, and I consider myself lucky to practice medicine at Baptist Health with some of the best physicians and nurses I’ve ever known. For the past 16 months, I have been treating COVID patients in the ICU. It has been challenging and at times heartbreaking, but I was able to remain positive knowing incredible work was being done to develop a safe and effective vaccine. Sadly, with local vaccination rates below 50% and hospitalizations rising rapidly, my optimism is fading.
I decided to speak out now because I think it is important for residents of Paducah to have a clear understanding of what is happening locally. As a member of Paducah’s medical community, I have no ulterior motive. My goal is simply to save as many lives as possible and to base my decisions in science and compassion.
Here are the realities of COVID in Paducah as of August 1, 2021:
• The local case count is rising quickly. One might look at it complacently, as a relatively low number compared to the number of cases we had back in the winter. However, hospitalizations are increasing alarmingly. The outbreak in Missouri is overwhelming the CoxHealth system in Springfield. At the rate that our cases, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions are increasing, that is a realistic possibility in Paducah also. I think this is due to the severity of illness the delta variant causes compared with prior variants.
• Recent reports indicate 97% of hospitalizations have been for unvaccinated patients. Our local experience is consistent with this. We have had vaccinated individuals test positive for COVID in Paducah, but serious disease and death have been almost exclusively among the unvaccinated.
• Death from COVID is usually due to respiratory failure, and it is a ghastly way to die. We have witnessed several tragedies over the last 3 weeks as COVID has started devastating patients who are much younger and healthier than those during previous waves (30 to 60 years old vs. 60+ before.) My pulmonary colleagues in other KY cities and nearby states are seeing the same trends – the people coming to the hospital are younger, sicker, and predominantly unvaccinated.
• For now, we have enough ventilators in Paducah. But I think there is a misperception that having ventilators means we are well equipped to save people who are seriously ill from COVID. The sad reality is that the minority of COVID patients who are put on a ventilator survive.
My thoughts on the vaccine:
With the increased community spread locally, our best defense is to get more people vaccinated. I know not everyone has direct access to a lung doctor, so I want to tell you what I tell patients every day in my office when they seek my advice on whether to get vaccinated.
• I reviewed the vaccine trials and have confidence that the vaccines are safe and effective. Over 339 million doses of the vaccine have been given in the United States. To date, 3 confirmed deaths have been linked to the vaccine. These deaths were the results of blood clots following the J&J vaccine.
• The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are very similar to each other and have shown better effectiveness vs the delta variant than other options. So Pfizer and Moderna are both great options – just make sure you get two doses so you will maximize your protection.
• Medications now in common use for other conditions have been studied far less than these vaccines prior to approval, and frequently are used for treatment of conditions for which they were not originally developed. One example: Viagra was studied in 3000 participants vs 70,000 in the mRNA trials leading to FDA emergency use authorization.
• If you get critically ill, I will do everything I can for you, but it might not be enough. The reality is that the drugs and treatments we have to fight COVID are often not enough to prevent death. The best prevention tool we have is the vaccine, and the vaccine will only help BEFORE you contract the disease.
• We each have the individual right to choose whether to be vaccinated, but that comes with the responsibility for the choice’s consequences. The decisions we make as individuals affect the health and welfare of our entire community. If our hospitals continue to fill up with COVID patients, our ability to care for non-COVID patients and to do elective procedures will be affected. Your decision to be vaccinated will also help me and the other indefatigable healthcare workers in this community. We are not an unlimited resource."
