We are working hard to do our part. Please, do yours.
Across the UVM Health Network, we are doing everything we can to respond to the ever-changing challenges of COVID-19. Today, nearly two years into this pandemic, we continue to fight the impact of this virus. Our emergency rooms are packed. Our Intensive Care Units are nearing capacity. All of our people, providing all types of care throughout our health system, are being pushed to the brink.
If you have not received your COVID-19 vaccines, you are putting yourself, your loved ones, your friends, your neighbors and your health care workers at risk.
The battle is far from over. Roughly 75% of the patients we treat in our ICUs for COVID-19-related illness are unvaccinated. In some cases, that number is much higher, and the outcomes are not always good. Similar trends prevail across Vermont and Northern New York.
What’s frustrating to all of us is that we know our best hope of ending this crisis is vaccination. The vast majority of eligible people living in Vermont (80%) and in New York (75%) have been vaccinated.
Yet, if you’ve chosen not to get vaccinated, you’re keeping the virus alive and putting everyone at risk.
We know vaccination isn’t a silver bullet against COVID-19 infection, especially with what we are learning about variants. But vaccination is the best protection we have against a severe case, and it’s the best way for you to stay out of the hospital or the ICU. Keeping you out of the hospital means we have more beds available if someone else has a heart attack, gets into a major car accident, or needs emergency surgery. It means reducing the pressure on our regional health care system and giving our workforce the relief they deserve.
It also may save your life.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about COVID-19 vaccines. It’s time to set all of that aside and focus squarely on the real-life, hard-earned lessons we’ve learned through the pandemic. With those lessons in mind, here’s what we ask of you:
- If you are not vaccinated — Get Vaccinated.
- If you are vaccinated — Get Your Booster.
- If you know someone who is not vaccinated — Help them get a vaccine.
- And regardless of your vaccination status, continue to do the things we know make a difference: Wear a mask. Clean your hands.
- Get tested when necessary. Distance when you are around others. Do not socialize when you feel ill.
Please, share this message. Together, we can save lives.
COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in our region at pharmacies, doctors’ offices and other places. To find a vaccine appointment near you, go to www.vaccines.gov or call 1-800-232-0233.
John R. Brumsted, MD
President and Chief Executive Officer
UVM Health Network
David W. Clauss, MD
Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
UVM Health Network
Annette Macias-Hoag, DNP, MHA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, CENP
Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
UVM Health Network