The Covid-19 vaccine is a source of hope for healthcare professionals.But it’s too late for hundreds of people

After a few weeks Dr. Carlos Araujo Preza He was treated for Covid-19 at a hospital in the same Houston area where he cared for the patient. Pandemic, A colleague remembered him when she received a new vaccine that could have saved his life.

“The nurse practitioner wrote on a small piece of paper that she had been vaccinated for my father,” said his daughter Andrea Arauho.

“She wrote:’For my boss and friend who died a few weeks before vaccination. #ForDrAraujo.’ I was sad, but really great.”

Araujo Preza died in the same intensive care unit on November 30, and was Director of Critical Care at HCA Houston Healthcare in Tomball, Texas.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 240,000 healthcare workers have been infected with the coronavirus and nearly 900 have died.

For their families, and for more than 300,000 American families who died in Covid-19, the long-awaited vaccine is a source of hope for a year of despair. But it’s too late.

“Bittersweet” moment

Hundreds of people across the country, primarily front-line healthcare professionals, received their first dose Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine During the week I saw about 20,000 Americans die of the virus. A Second Covid-19 vaccine It will ship soon and more than 237,000 people are expected to die in winter.

Last Monday, when the first dose of the vaccine was delivered to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, The number of deaths from the virus nationwide has exceeded 300,000.

Healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities Lined up first to receive shots. But it will take months before most Americans can get it.

“I hope this is the first step in preventing others from experiencing what my family has experienced,” said Andrea Araúho. “We hope we are heading in the right direction.”

Hope is hard work in a country that has exceeded the hospitalization record in its own country for more than 12 consecutive days.

Over the weekend, there were more than 114,700 coronavirus patients nationwide. COVID tracking project. The United States has reported an average of over 219,000 new infections daily over the past week. Yet another record was set on Friday. Over 249,700 new infections have been reported.

Dr. Valerie Briones-Pryor He was one of the first people to get the new Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine last Monday in Kentucky. She described the moment as “bittersweet.”

“I was very impressed because I had just heard that the 27th patient had died when I was walking to get the vaccine,” she said.

“The burden of fear has been removed.”

Sandra Lindsay, A week ago, a New York emergency nurse received a vaccine approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. She is believed to be the first person in a country vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Lindsay, an ICU nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, received a shot from Dr. Michel Chester, Corporate Director of Employee Health Services at Northwell Health.

Lindsay and Chester are both black, representing two groups — Color people And Health care workers — Disproportionately affected by the national health crisis.They know that the American history of racism in medicine and research and the lack of trust in the federal government created it. Some black Americans and Latin Americans are hesitant to get vaccinated.

“Every day since I got a job in March … it’s getting darker and darker,” Lindsay said at CNN Town Hall on Friday night, “Covid’s Color-Vaccine.”

“I’ve seen the impact of it, and I don’t want to see you end up in one of our ICU beds or enter our hospital.”

She added: “I’ve never been so scared of my colleagues in 26 and a half years of nursing. After the shot … I applauded. I felt like the burden of fear was off my shoulders. did.”

Dr. Jerome Adams, President of the United States Surgeon Vice President Mike Pence received the vaccine publicly on Friday as part of a campaign to build public confidence.

“We have to admit that this … distrust comes from a historic place,” Black Adams told CNN. “But we also need to explain to people that we are implementing protection to prevent this from happening again.

“Looking at Covid-19, the fact that African Americans, Hispanics, or Native Americans are three to five times more likely to be hospitalized or die is a mistake that’s happening right now. . “”

No reservations for vaccination

Araujo Preza was born in El Salvador and came to the United States in 1994 to continue medical education. He studied at Staten Island University Hospital in New York and Tulane University in New Orleans. In 2001, he moved to the Houston area, where he worked as a pulmonologist for nearly 20 years.

According to her daughter, in April, during the first wave of a pandemic, he slept in the hospital for nearly a month. When he got sick in October, he downplayed his condition so as not to worry about his family.

Araujo Preza was admitted to the ICU in early November and stayed there for about a week and a half. He was barely discharged 48 hours before re-hospitalization. When his condition worsened, he was transferred to the Houston Methodist Hospital and later placed on a ventilator. He never went home.

“Throughout my life, he has always worked really hard and was very enthusiastic about his patients and his practice,” said Andrea Araúho. “And this year he illustrated it more than ever.”

She said she hadn’t made any reservations for vaccination.

“I’m not a medical expert, but I know my dad wanted to get vaccinated,” Araujo said. “And it gives me confidence. Whenever I have a chance to get it, I do.”

Julan Banago He said he was not distressed that his mother had never been vaccinated.

Celia Yap-Banago Born in the Philippines, he died at the age of 69 in April, a few days before his 40th anniversary as a nurse at the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

“There is a great opportunity in front of us,” said the 29-year-old engineer. “We can’t change what has already happened, and we absolutely hope that in the future, healthcare professionals with a 29-year-old son will not have to undergo the interview we are doing now.”

Since her death, the Yap Banago family has always repaired small dishes for her at dinner. They often point their television to her favorite station, the Hallmark Channel. She was watching it when she fell asleep.

“Mom will certainly be excited and relieved to find out that there is a vaccine developed to help us and help frontline workers fight this terrifying enemy,” Banago said. It was.