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February 5, 2021
New Mexico’s Legal & Financial Weekly
Vol. 10.101 No. 6
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Nurse Educators Combat COVID-19 Vaccine Myths
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istribution and administration of vaccines to combat the COVID-19 virus continues to expand, but myths and disinformation about the vaccine and its safety and benefits persist. According to a recent article in the journal Health Affairs, effective vaccination requires four elements: generating demand for the vaccine, allocating the vaccine, distributing the vaccine, and verifying coverage. The National League for Nursing, the premier organization for nursing education leaders, emphasizes the importance of educating health professionals and the public about the vaccine.
in these communities, “Efforts to promote vaccine uptake in the Black community must directly confront and address the deep historical traumas that have created high levels o f distrust in the COVID-19 vaccine, and the government and healthcare system overall,” according to a survey on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Black and Latino communities conducted by Langer Research Associates.
Vaccines in general work by encouraging the body to generate antibodies to protect against an invading infection. The risks of these mild symptoms however, such as pain at the site of injection or symptoms resembling a mild case of the flu, are greatly outweighed by the protection offered by the vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccines are becoming available from multiple pharmaceutical companies. Some require two doses to be fully effective, but other vaccines in development require only one dose. The safety of the public is a top priority, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed v-safe, a smartphone-based tool that uses text messages and online surveys to follow individuals after they are vaccinated. The tool allows users to report symptoms and side effects quickly and easily, and to receive guidance on what to do for any side effects that occur.
Latino communities have experienced an especially high burden of COVID-19 infections but the survey data suggests that resistance to vaccination is lower in these communities compared to Black communities. Overall, equity and access are key to protecting the public, and messaging about the importance of getting a vaccine as soon as it is available should be “open, honest, and comprehensive,” according to the National League for Nursing.
The National League for Nursing also emphasizes the importance of For more information about how nurses and nurse educators are taking vaccine uptake in Black, Latino, and Native American communities, the lead in educating the public about the safety and importance of many of which are medically underserved in the best of times. Nurses and COVID-19 vaccination, visit NLN.org. -(NewsUSA) nurse educators can do their part to increase trust and vaccine acceptance
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A Tool To Save Lives
eart disease is a leading cause of death for all Americans, but the death rate is higher for African American men and African American women of all ages than for whites. To help community health workers in African American communities teach others about heart disease prevention, The Heart Truth®, a program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, recently released a new resource, “With Every Heartbeat Is Life,” that provides culturally tailored information about heart health. It is a resource for community health workers to use when holding educational sessions on heart disease in their own communities. It has culturally relevant information, such as heart-healthy modifications of traditional recipes, to make the manual particularly useful and meaningful in African American communities.
Heart-health experts developed the toolkit to help community health workers teach the course and engage participants using idea starters and picture cards to generate conversations. The curriculum discusses heart disease risk factors and prevention, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetes, alcohol consumption, weight management, sleep, physical activity, stress, and not smoking. The resource provides practical tips, such as eating healthy even when money is tight, and how to act in time to respond to heart attack signs. Learn More For more information go to hearttruth.gov.
-(NAPSI)