A Plea from Cleveland Clinic; December 21, 2021

12/21/21 email from Cleveland Clinic:

A Plea from Cleveland Clinic

"This past month has been sobering for many of us in healthcare. Nearly two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, we’re seeing some of the highest volumes of patients with the disease in hospitals throughout the Midwest.

"Here at Cleveland Clinic, we’re caring for more than 800 patients with COVID-19 at our Ohio hospitals. Of these patients, more than 200 are in the intensive care unit. The majority of these patients are unvaccinated.  

Our Ohio emergency departments are filled. We have people waiting to get into our hospitals. Neighboring hospitals in our communities are facing the same issues. 

We’ve had to postpone many non-urgent surgeries in Ohio as we try to leave enough space for patients with COVID-19. Our physicians, nurses and caregivers are working around-the-clock to care for these sick patients. They are exhausted.  

Today, we come to you with a plea. Get vaccinated. Please. Whether you are due for your booster shot, undecided about getting your child vaccinated or have been leery of the vaccine all along. The science is clear. Vaccines save lives. Please, get vaccinated.

For those of you who have lost a loved one to COVID-19 this year, we extend our deepest sympathies. We feel your loss. We share in your grief. We, too, are heartbroken.

The only way we can get through this is together. Please do your part for yourself, your family and your community. Get vaccinated. Wear your mask, wash your hands and stay home if you're feeling ill. 

Cleveland Clinic will always be here for you when you need compassionate, high-quality care. The sun will rise tomorrow morning, and with it will bring renewed hope for a better day. 

We wish you and yours a joyous holiday season & a happy and healthy New Year."

Coronavirus FAQ: Am I Legally (And Ethically) Bound To Say If I Got A COVID Vaccine?; NPR, May 7, 2021

Fran Kritz, NPR; Coronavirus FAQ: Am I Legally (And Ethically) Bound To Say If I Got A COVID Vaccine?

"I'm vaccinated? Do I need to tell everyone who asks my status?

In a word: No.

Legally, a vaccinated person is not required to share that information with everyone who asks, says Jennifer Piatt, an attorney and research scholar at the Center for Public Health Law and Policy Health. "Information may be deeply personal for some people, and they may choose not to share that information openly."...

The law, however, is still evolving on this issue...

What are the ethical ramifications of withholding or misrepresenting your vaccine status? My dad lives in a Middle Eastern country and he won't tell his peers he's been inoculated because of local beliefs that the vaccine is somehow harmful...

Amesh Adalja, senior scholar for the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who has treated COVID-19 patients since the start of the pandemic, agrees. "If your life is in danger, or you think you will be harmed if you disclose your vaccine status, I wouldn't disclose it," says Adalja. "Short of that, it is something to brag about." 

The Most Popular J&J Vaccine Story On Facebook? A Conspiracy Theorist Posted It; NPR, April 15, 2021

Miles Parks, NPR ; The Most Popular J&J Vaccine Story On Facebook? A Conspiracy Theorist Posted It

""This is what I would call the perfect storm for misinformation," said Jennifer Granston at Zignal Labs, a media intelligence platform...

In most cases, the social media companies say they can't do much to respond in cases such as this, since people largely are sharing articles based on factual information, even if the commentary and subtext around the posting is meant to further false ideas.

"It's a really insidious problem," said Deen Freelon, a communications professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in an interview with NPR last month. "The social media companies have taken a hard line against disinformation; they have not taken a similarly hard line against fallacies."

Many anti-vaccine activists have adopted this tactic as a way of getting around social media networks' policies designed to halt the spread of false information....

Often, misinformation peddlers with a specific agenda will fill in knowledge gaps with false information, knowing people are desperate for any information at all."