Since March, Dr. Valerie Briones-Pryor has been on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak in Kentucky, running a COVID unit at UofLs Jewish Hospital. On Jan. 7, LEO caught up with Briones-Pryor to talk about the current status of the pandemic. She spoke about how the hospitals current wave of patients has been fueled by small gatherings, how the vaccine has provided a boost of morale for medical workers and the precautions you need to continue to take after you get vaccinated, among other topics. Below are excerpts of what she said during the conversation.
On how small gatherings are fueling cases in her unit. When I came back from Christmas, there was a whole new set of patients on the COVID floor, and every single one of them were telling me, Well, yes, we did an early Christmas, we were staying within our family, we didnt think so-and-so was sick. And even all this week, Ive already heard four stories, Well, so-and-so came in for Christmas and he didnt know he had COVID, or we went to so-and-sos house and we thought they werent feeling bad, but two days later they got sick, and now were sick. People think that, Oh, Im going to go visit my family, they assume that their family, because its family, are fine. But, you dont really know.
On opening a second unit at the beginning of the surge in early October. Weve been fortunate that weve been able to stay within those numbers. We havent had to open a third unit. There are times where we have been worried though, because the numbers have gone up. But then the two weeks after the holiday goes by, and then things level out a little bit. But then the next holiday comes up, and we know its going to happen again. And thats where we are right now. Were seeing the Christmas rush. And next week, well see the New Years rush. Im thankful that there are no more holidays, because were all tired, and we need a break, and Im hoping people will get past wanting to be with others at the holidays and will stay put. People are getting vaccinated, so thats wonderful, too. And we can finally get a handle on this, but Im worried about how January is going to play out.
On why you should get the vaccine, and how medical workers are leading the campaign to gain public trust. Ive said this time and time again, COVID doesnt care about you. It doesnt care if youre young, healthy, have a family, are well off. I mean, it is a great equalizer, in a sense, because you could be the healthiest person in the world, never had a medical problem, dont need to take medicine, but you may be the one that ends up on the bed. I had a 101-year old, I love this story, from a nursing home that came to us, when there was a nursing home outbreak, and she had no symptoms. She didnt even need oxygen. When you get COVID, we hope youre going to be in the majority that does well, but you may not be. It really is kind of a crapshoot about how its going to affect you. If theres an opportunity out there for us to protect you, to give you armor in this battle, why wouldnt you wear it? Yeah, the technology is new, but its actually not new. It is technology thats been used for cancer research for years. Were not injecting a live virus in people. It doesnt interfere with your DNA. Youre not going to turn into a zombie. Its not a microchip where people are going to follow you your cell phone does that for you. Millions of healthcare workers across the nation and the world are rolling up their sleeves to go get it, and theyre all just the same men and women, just like you. If we think we can do it, and my arm hasnt fallen off yet, theres no reason why its not going to be safe.
On the vaccine providing a boost of morale for medical workers. Theres a feeling of hope. A feeling of, This may end, at some point. I mean, its not going to end anytime soon, but there may be an end in sight. We got to get through January, because we all knew January was going to be tough. But there is an end in sight. And, that, for the first time in a long time, was a good feeling to have some kind of hope.
On why its important to continue to follow safety measures after vaccination. Were very limited to the number of people who are vaccinated at the present time. And the recommendation to get herd immunity, to really protect everybody, is that 70-80% of the population has to be vaccinated. So, were obviously not anywhere close to that right now. The wearing of masks, social distancing still, still, still is very important, if not just as important, because we cant let our guard down, just because some of us have been vaccinated. And, the other thing is, just because I got a shot Monday, the full potential of that vaccine doesnt really come in until a week from that. Just because you get your first shot, or your second shot, it doesnt mean the day after, or the minute after, you all of a sudden have immunity. Were still building all of that up. Its important because you could still be carrying the virus on you. So, you might not get sick from it, but you might give it to somebody else who hasnt been vaccinated yet. We know this virus is very contagious, so we have to protect others in the community, even though we ourselves have been protected or vaccinated.
On what the pandemic should teach us. We all have a responsibility in our community not just for ourselves, but to take care of others. If we want to live good, healthy lives. If we want to be able to go to our favorite restaurants. Go to the gym. Do the things that we did in our normal lives, we have to do our part to get there. And thats part of being a community. Its not about one person, its about everybody. My hope is that the pandemic taught us that.
This article appears in January 13, 2021.
