Frontline healthcare workers and nurses in long-term care facilities are two of the first groups of people to receive the COVID vaccine in Oklahoma. Some see the vaccine as a saving grace while others view it as a potential danger.
"We all feel like guinea pigs," Marci Warren, a nurse at Sequoyah Manor in Sallisaw, Oklahoma said. "It's too soon for me to sign on."
The Oklahoma State Department of Health says over 40,000 doses will arrive in the state, next week. 33,000 doses from Pfizer's vaccine and another 10,000 from Moderna.
"The vaccine is going to be one of the ways that we finally let off some of the stress," Theresa Murphy, an instructor at OU College of Nursing, said.
"I will definitely take the vaccine as soon as it's available to us," Pooja Gandhi, an OU College of Nursing student, said.
"If I have to make the choice right now it's going to be no," Warren said.
In November, Pfizer announced its vaccine prevented coronavirus in 95 percent of tested trial cases. The drug has shown side effects, mainly pain at the injection site, headaches, and fatigue.
There were also two reported allergic reactions from recipients in the United Kingdom.
"That just scares me, because we don't know enough about this vaccine long term," Warren said. "We just don't know."
"Getting a vaccine is going to be one of the few ways, one of the main ways, that we're going to be able to get a handle on this virus," Murphy said.
Warren tells 2 Works for You, every healthcare worker at her nursing home don't plan on getting the vaccine. Instructors at OU's College of Nursing say they are telling nurses to read over the research and make their own informed decisions.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
