This past week, HCBS homes Eastern Star and Western Star, located in Sauk Rapids, received their first round of the COVID-19 vaccine. Rob Benner, Director of Program Management - HCBS, was on-site on January 27th to assist and receive his first shot. Rob provided the following great recap of the day:
Hey everyone! It was an exciting day for the individuals we serve in Sauk Rapids as they received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. We had fun! Enthusiastic RNs from the Benton County Public Health Department came on-site to administer for us and they were awesome. They answered any and all questions, and helped put people at ease while also encouraging everyone to share their experiences with others to help boost participation. My experience with the 1st dose couldn’t of been better. I’ve had injection site reactions to vaccines before and am not a fan of needles, but those are not scientifically justifiable reasons to avoid vaccination. The injection itself was painless but I did develop some soreness in the shoulder hours later, which was expected, and have otherwise not experienced any other side effects. There have also been no reported side effects from the individuals who received their vaccines this week and everyone is doing great. We expect to have some mild side effects following our 2nd doses, but that’s a good thing! It just means the vaccine is working and our bodies are developing the antibodies we need to prevent infection.
As encouraging as it was that a good portion of the individuals living in the homes received the vaccine, I would be remiss if I didn’t call attention to the low participation levels among staff that we’ve seen in many programs. High-risk inaction is NOT better than low-risk action. I just want to encourage everyone to take a minute and think about how amazing it is that we even have this opportunity to help end the pandemic. Vaccines won’t do it alone, but recovery will take that much longer if people choose not to do their part. There’s still time for staff that are hesitant. Talk to a doctor, talk to people you trust who’ve received the vaccine, but please don’t listen to anecdotes about some friend’s uncle who claims the vaccine contains microchips or will give you COVID. This vaccine is SAFE & EFFECTIVE for the vast majority of people. As with any vaccine-preventable disease, the only reason a few people are able to safely go without, is because so many others do not. As with the work that we do, it’s our job to protect those who cannot protect themselves! We can do better.
Rob Benner - Director of Program Management - HCBS
Thank you Rob for the great article, and to those Thrive employees that participated in the event!