Vaccine

There are so many reasons! Here are just a few:

• It protects you, those you love, and those around you at work and at home. 
• It’s the first step toward normalizing life at BRC and in our broader community. 
• You will be a part of the solution to reducing the infection and positivity rates in our region.
• BRC’s leave policy is changing: if you don’t get the vaccine and then have to be off work for a COVID-related reason, you will have to use personal sick leave or vacation time. If you don’t have enough time off accrued, you will not be paid.
• Most team members are proud of the fact that BRC is a leader in senior living and provides the highest possible quality of life for our residents. Let’s lead by example and demonstrate that we continue to follow best practices for health and wellbeing.

Both the Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech were tested with exceptionally large numbers of people compared with what is required, and they were shown to be very safe.

• The Pfizer vaccine trial included more than 40,000 people, and the Moderna included more than 25,000. The FDA advises a minimum of 3,000 participants in such a trial to assess safety, so that was greatly exceeded in both cases.
• No one who received either vaccine developed severe COVID disease or died.
• Both vaccines are based on messenger RNA (mRNA) which stimulates our bodies to build the antibodies needed to fight the virus. Neither contains either live or killed coronavirus particles, so they cannot give you COVID-19.
• Both vaccines are based on previously developed vaccines that were very safe, so we know the ingredients are not harmful.

The Moderna vaccine achieved 94.1 % protection from having a COVID-19 infection; the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine achieved 94.5% efficacy. In both trials, this held for people of different ethnicities, races and ages.

Both the Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines seem to confer significant protection from the new strains (for some variants more than others) so it’s still better to get the vaccine.

It is likely that the best solution is to get the available vaccine and then boosters as they are developed. Moderna is already developing a booster to increase protection against variants.

Although pregnancy and fertility were not directly studied in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials, no available evidence suggests the vaccine could affect future fertility. In fact, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the vast majority of physicians recommend getting the vaccine because getting COVID is a much higher risk to fertility and health than getting the vaccine.

Here are the side effects and what we know about them:

• In both trials, there were NO severe adverse events.

• Some people may have short-term discomfort: fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and pain at injection site after vaccination. These side effects mean your body is doing its job and making antibodies; this is a good thing even though it may not feel good. These side effects are normal, common and expected.

• A very small percentage have had allergic reactions after getting the vaccine. That’s why the vaccination teams have epipens on hand, and why you are asked to wait for 15 minutes before leaving the clinic. If you have a history of severe allergic reactions, please consult your medical provider.

While many people have asymptomatic or mild cases of COVID, the death rate from this disease is far higher than for the flu. More than 433,000 people in the U.S. have already died, of all ages and ethnicities. That’s more than four times the number of people in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg combined. Plus, even for those who recover there is evidence of potential long-term consequences that may negatively affect health for many years.

BRC is dedicated to the health and safety of all residents and team members. We strongly encourage all team members to receive the vaccination. Our leave policy will apply differently if you have not accepted the vaccine and then have to miss work for a COVID-related reason, and if you don’t have sick time or vacation accrued you will not be paid for that time off.

We have already been in touch with the POAs of our Nursing and Assisted Living residents, and almost all are eager to get vaccinated. Any residents who have medical or religious concerns about being vaccinated will meet with members of BRC’s clinical leadership to discuss.

BRC team members and residents will not incur any costs to receive the vaccine. The U.S. Government is paying for the vaccine itself. Insurance providers will be billed to cover the cost of the administration of the vaccines.

Yes, we will continue to follow best practices and guidance from the CDC, CMS, and VDH, and they all agree at this point that masks, social distancing, and our other protocols are still important to prevent transmission. But the more of us get vaccinated at BRC and in the broader community, the sooner the day will come when we can get back to normal.