HOUSTON – As the country anxiously awaited approval for the COVID-19 vaccine, healthcare workers on the frontlines at the Texas Medical Center were making plans.
Some of them were already on the list to get vaccinated.
“I’m already scheduled. I directly take care of COVID-19 patients. And so we’re one of the groups that are prioritized for the vaccine,” said Neha Rao, an internal medicine resident at Methodist Hospital.
Rao said she’ll be taking the vaccine possibly as early as next week. Considering she works directly with COVID-19 patients, she believes the vaccine is important to get.
”Vaccines have been around forever. You know like the ones we got when we were children you know. It’s the same theory. So I’m not too scared of getting this one,” Rao said.
Still, others working in the Medical Center said they plan to hold off on getting vaccinated.
“Honestly, I personally don’t want to be a guinea pig for it,” said Chastity Hatfield, an anesthesiologist tech at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Hatfield said, for now, she plans to wait on getting vaccinated citing concerns about the speed at which the vaccine was produced along with any possible risks.
”I don’t want to be one of those that end up something horribly goes wrong during a test. You know, God bless I haven’t caught COVID-19,” she said.
Regardless if they’re planning to be vaccinated or not, many are optimistic about the future in the fight against COVID-19.
”It’s hopeful, we’re very very tired. I’m tired FaceTiming families who can’t come in even people who don’t have COVID-19 can’t have visitors,” Rao said.