The Pandemic: 2 Years Later From A Tired Nurse

[SecretsofKB]

Author’s Note: I wasn’t going to post this. I wrote it, then talked myself out of it. Then talked myself into it, only to talk myself out of it again. Then my partner wanted me to watch a COVID-19 documentary with her. I sat down with her and only made it 5 minutes. And a special someone on here encouraged me to post this. So, here it is.

This isn't far off from what my typical day looks like.

Hi there, so some of you may know this already, but for those of you that don’t, I’m a RN (BSN) in an ICU in a large hospital in the Midwest U.S.

And something that only a select few of you know…I’m tired.

I graduated from nursing school in 2019 and went to work in my hospital’s burn/wound care center. Early February of 2020, I got my dream job in the Medical Intensive Care Unit in my hospital. Critical Care was my dream, and I was living it.

March 2020. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in my state. The patient was actually referred to my hospital. I remember being nervous. There was a feeling in the air that honestly is best described as weird. We all felt weird. We had been watching what was happening in Italy. The amount of meetings my unit was having that were going over our infectious disease procedures was crazy. Honestly, it was all crazy.

Then we started getting more patients that were COVID positive. Then more. Then more. Then we were full.

Then we were scared. Not nervous…..scared. We didn’t know how bad it was going to get. The unknown was terrifying. We did not know what to do. I saw veteran nurses and physicians with more years of critical care experience than I’ve been alive, break down and cry because of what was happening. I was a 23 year old new grad nurse that hadn’t even been out of nursing school for a year. I looked to these people for answers……but they were just as uncertain as I was.

I was certain about one thing though. I. Was. Terrified.

I was terrified to go to work. I was terrified to go into my patient’s rooms. In the back of my mind, I would think “well….this is the patient that gets me sick.” And after I was done with work, I was terrified to go home. Terrified that I would bring it home and spread it to my roommates. For 6 months I would drop my scrubs in the garage and immediately jump in the shower. Then, I was off to live in my bedroom, door shut, away from the roommates and the rest of the world.

Then I would go back to work and do it all again.

I had an entire MyTake written and ready to go. I wrote down a lot of the horrifying crap that I (and so many other nurses and doctors and RTs and others) have dealt with over the last 2 years. Things that keep me up at night. Things that make me cry in the shower, or in my car in the parking garage, or at my station. Things that make me not want to be a nurse anymore.

The problem is….after 2 years (yes 2 years) of a pandemic, the people that need to hear what we are going through and why getting vaccinated is so important, are the ones that won’t listen to what we have to say. What I, and so many others, have experienced every single day for the last 2 years and will continue to experience for the foreseeable future, will be ignored by these people. Or worse, they’ll just call it all lies or fake.

And I am getting too tired to fight for it.

You may have noticed that I am typing this in the past tense. Like it is all over. But it isn’t. Not even close. It is now on the eve of 2 years…..not 2 weeks, not 2 months…..but 2 years since that first case in my state. What has changed? Nothing. In 2 long years, nothing has changed. Yeah, we have a vaccine now. Yeah, we have booster shots.

But people are still dying…..and it would be so infuriating if I wasn’t so tired.

I’m tired of going into work. I’m tired of gowning up and going into my patient's room. I’m tired of being afraid to get sick. I’m tired of calling families to tell them they need to prepare to say their final goodbyes over an iPad. I’m tired of watching my patients….human beings with hopes, dreams, favorite foods, lives, families, friends, moms and dads, brothers and sisters, children……waste away to nothing.

Breathing is one of the most basic functions a human has to complete to stay alive. So basic that your body does it for you most of the time. But watching someone struggle and focus all of their energy on taking just one breath…..it fucks you up. So does pushing morphine and lorazepam to make the end of life as comfortable as it can be. I’ve gotten very good at that….

I am not the same fresh nurse I was 2 years ago. I’m not even the same person. I fear that person is gone.

So please, I beg you, if you can, get you vaccination (or keep up on your boosters). Wear a mask. Think of how your actions affect others. Let’s end this so we can all get on with our lives.

Signed,

Your friendly, tired nurse

[SaoirseS]

@SecretsofKB. Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. I've handled more COVID death cases over the past two years than I care to remember. Not only do we live in the same general region of the country, our professions have a lot in common but mine comes with less of the stress. I'm not there to experience agonal breathing and to watch their life slip away, or the uphill battle it sometimes is to get a patient through the illness. By the time I get them, they've expired; they're out of pain. For hospital removals I usually deal with an orderly or admin clerk, so rarely do I get to see the nurses and staff in action. There's nothing they can do for someone's remains, they focus themselves on tending to the living. That's as it should be.

Here's something no one ever wants to talk about in both our jobs. Often doing the job is the result of a bad decision or lifestyle choices (or series of them) on the patient part. The human body can be pretty forgiving, but there's a limit. If a young teen gets killed in a hit and run accident, the blame is automatically on the driver; never mind asking the question what a 13 year old is doing out on the streets at 3 a. m., and never mind asking what the child was doing walking in the street when there was a sidewalk just a few feet away. Or a person who gets killed after being ejected from the car in a rollover accident because they weren't wearing a seatbelt. They bring them to you expecting you to fix them up, do whatever you can, but sometimes that's just not enough. We deal with the cards we're dealt. Second-guessing and victim blaming is futile. COVID is no different. Some severe cases most certainly can be prevented.

The pandemic has taken its toll on the health care system, and to a lesser extent the death care industry. Like you, I'm so tired of the naysayers and the paranoid I'm no longer interested in discussing and debating it. Nobody will change their minds unless and until they experience it first hand. Even then, I experience people grasping trying to attribute it to something else that just isn't there. I see the aftermath when you've done all you can. This disease is serious, and doesn't discriminate. COVID casualties are starting to get younger.

Again, thanks for taking the time. And know that I and the majority of the public is fully aware of the challenges you face, and appreciates your most important duties.

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you for your response! Yes, your side of our world is something that people tend to overlook. Both of our jobs exist because our world isn't perfect and bad things happen all the time. But like you said, a lot of bad things can be avoided...

Thank you again!!!

[NathanDavis]

I'll wish you all the best, and I really hope it starts to get better, eventually... for you and yours... because yes, there's strenuous difficulty in adversity but there's also the possibility for personal growth and there can be reward as well

we should all be, I really am thankful for wonderful people as I know that you are, wonderful people that are willing to sacrifice and to make this much effort for others, and with genuine care as well...

and I really hope you get to feel a bit better about all this sooner than later, and know that yes, even though difficulty does changes the person we are, we were and we will be... the core of us, the essence of what and who we are as people, that's a bit more resilient... and things might change, we might change a bit but please don't ever stop being the wonderful person that we all here know that you are... you are a light for many, close to you... and taken care of by you, so... darkness might seem vast and never ending at time, but you're still a light, so thank you for that.. and best wishes for you and yours (=

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you so much for those great words!!!

I'm really hoping that I can really draw out those positives from all of this when it's all over!!!

[NathanDavis]

yours wonderness will prevail (=

[Massageman]

As a Massage Therapist with client visits dropping like a rock down an empty well, I can share only a bit of the bone-weariness you must be suffering. I can at least sit and relax if I don't have a client. I don't have to stand there while a patient gets put on a vent so the treatment center can get its politically-motivated handout for a COIVD case, even though is no possible hope for that victim.

I have had sinus problems since I was about 11-12 years old. Every year- spring and fall- just like clockwork- the sniffles start. This last time, it wasn't until day 4- when it felt as though I had been hit by a Mack truck- that I realized this was not "the annual sniffles", especially when the "phlegm" I coughed up looked like chunks of pepperoni pizza! Within 36 hours, our doc had me in an ER cubicle for a mono-clonal antibody infusion. So, people out there - if you feel ill, get it checked out by one of our tired docs and nurses who put it on the line for us every day. A friend of ours who is a decade younger than I am waited until a week had passed. Ten days later, he passed - - away!

[lightbulb27]

Thank you for sharing your inside view, we all should have been seeing more of it... even personally. Yes, people are confused and some hardened. It sounds like your real exhaustion is with those denying the vaccine solution which would mitigate the death you see in the hospitals.

It reads as a book from soldiers on the front lines WWII ("With the old breed at peliliu"). You were in a war zone daily, with no leave... takes a toll on anyone.

Takes a special person to sign up to be a nurse (and other roles like teacher or cop). Emotional makeup is critical to success followed by training. To be burned out after 2 years is concerning as you are just getting started in life. I know of multiple nurses still fighting on the front lines and a director. Most of us can't imagine reality you go through.

I'm a little confounded with what you wrote vs what you expected. If I heard the word "ER", I'd assume a high rate of trauma and loss. In this case, people are dying and staff don't have controls to mitigate. Do you feel you were prepared for this, is there better training? Our society is so removed from "life" that I question if young people are being trained well enough. The loss rate of dr's and nurses... suicide and such was high before this event, it's concerning if we have a larger looming disaster ahead that needs resource and focus to save all of you from us.

I relate to it by my own burnout at work and recovery. I wonder if the way out of your trauma is the one I had, which is examining yourself and changing your world view, healing your inner child. That's the only thing that matters. See the TED talk on "stress" which is helpful. Meditation is a huge cure as is diet. Read the book on "happiness" by dalai lama. These are pathways out of the doldrums to a better place. You have no control over other people or the world... only self. I tried to convince my dying mother to stop smoking... impossible. they cling to their beliefs.

Coming out of this... as you face it with courage... you'll grow new strength. I suspect you can relate even more to the burned out, displaced, orphaned, thrown off the bus people on the streets of every city.. soldiers, burned out nurses, depressed students, etc... Out of that, may come greater fruits you weren't aware of before you can give back.

hope that's not too much, but you gotta pick up the pieces from every battle in life and live for another day.

[susie22]

I share your frustration and feeling of helplessness with the whole Covid situation. I'll be totally honest in saying that I absolutely hate wearing a mask, and was not a big fan of vaccination, but I'm well educated and I believe that I have enough common sense to listen to the Medical experts when it comes to Covid, so I've been vigilant in masking up, and have had both doses and a booster of the Pfizer vaccine. Did I think the pandemic would last this long? No, I did not, but when I look at the vaccination rates for some other countries, I understand why Covid is still alive and well here. Sadly, there are those that are not listening to the experts, others that are getting their information from the wrong places, and others that are either totally adamant about not getting vaccinated or are making it either a political thing or a government control thing.

I'm also frustrated with those individuals, but that's a lot of the reason that we're where we are right now, and it looks like we will still be here for quite some time yet. Some either don't understand or just don't care that the masks and vaccines are to protect others from you, not necessarily the other way around, but again, that's what we get when the President of the United States is telling us that "it will just go away in a month or two", and the classic "maybe we can just inject some bleach", both great information coming from the top. Do I think this will miraculously change any time soon?

Unfortunately, no, I do not, and because of this ongoing pandemic it seems the world has gone about 30-40 years in reverse. Things that were simple in 2019 like travel or just going out to a show are now requiring testing, things that were easy to buy at stores are now in short supply, and because of the supply chain issues everything is more expensive. Progress? I think not.

I respect and commend you in your profession, and I hope this pandemic doesn't sour on doing a job you care about and love, but I would definitely understand if it did. We really are the only ones that can actually get rid of Covid once and for all, but unfortunately a lot of us just don't get that. All we can do is hope that at some point they do. Stay safe and know that there are those of us who do care about you and the job you do every day.

[ChiTown33]

Thank you for posting this. I had a job that kept me largely from direct contact with the public and I'm primarily a homebody so I avoided covid for the longest time. But in the spring of 2021 I found myself like all my family waiting my turn for the vaccine. I got it as soon as I possibly could. But as luck would have it I had to have surgery in the spring. And that meant getting shuffled from one pre-op appt. To another. One was getting a covid test which came back negative. One of the dr.'s would not clear me for surgery without additional testing so my surgery got pushed back a week. They tested me for covid again and this time it came back positive. I had already gotten my first Pfizer shot and was awaiting my 2 waiting period to elapse before getting my 2nd shot when I was diagnosed with covid. They still proceeded with the surgery. And then they moved me to the ICU. I think it was just a precaution as I spent less then 2 days there. What was originally supposed to be an outpatient procedure. Landed me in quarantine in the hospital for 21 days. And a hospital stay for over a month. To be honest I never felt sick. I just slept pretty much for 2 weeks. But I know I was sick as I lost 25lbs. In those 2 weeks (so it wasn't all bad lol). But I want to be clear that I credit the first vaccine and the fact that the dr. s and nurses took it as serious as they did. I'm very thankful for what you guys do
I wish I could hug you all. I have heard many nurses say they're going to need therapy when this is all over. I mean you guys are essentially triaging in a war. This is a WAR, against a virus. I'm really glad you wrote this because I don't think this can be said enough. People point to the low death rate as the reason to not take Covid very seriously. But just because it isn't killing most people doesn't mean it's not affecting them. I mean a year after I'm still having lingering effects. And people need to understand the problem. Even if it doesn't kill you it's the sheer volume of infected people that is overwhelming our Healthcare industry.

[joeldalton]

Wait, you never felt sick and feel you are blessed you gut stuck in the hospital for over a month? And you think that is normal? Holy shit the brainwashing is good.

[ChiTown33]

@joeldalton lol well I did have labored breathing. I clearly had congestion. I was on oxygen. I had night sweats (though that could have been the oxygen since it was heated so as not to shock my lungs). Apparently you missed that I said I lost 25 lbs. In those 2 weeks. I know you want to think this is all a conspiracy since this is how you type of people work. But Covid is real. I was BLESSED to have a milder case. It still landed me in the hospital, in ICU. Sorry to bust your bubble with a truth bomb.

[joeldalton]

Great. I had covid and I’ve had worse hay fever.

[ChiTown33]

@joeldalton cool I'm glad you didn't get it very bad either. We were a couple of the lucky ones.

[CrazyGirl2]

Wonderful, heartfelt Mytake. Thank you so much for sharing this. And you may be right, those who need it still, are unlikely to get the vaccine at this point, but even if only one in a million Americans listened to you, you’d still have 320 human beings getting vaccinated because of YOU! And 320, that’s pretty impressive! My mom is going through something similar at her hospital… I think there is just something about this being the 2nd anniversary that is just so depressing. (Especially when we were all told 15 days to flatten the curve!) if ever I complain to her about school, or especially about my work, Mom often says “if you think that’s tough, try doing your job wearing a welding mask and a several garbage bags skillfully taped to form rudimentary black plastic scrubs! You will be in my thoughts and well-wishes. Not that any of THAT helps you per se, but I hope that the idea of people out here caring enough to make the effort, helps you make it through just one more day… then one more… then one more. Until OUR powers-that-be decide to re-classify Covid 19 endemic and eliminate all Covid restrictions and requirements and adopt a "living with Covid" model, like Great Britain, Denmark, Singapore, Thailand and more. With a great many more nations with current active plans to eliminate the restrictions in the coming days and weeks. (For fully vaccinated people) There is NO doubt, NONE, that if it were not for our hero’s in scrubs, we would be in SUCH an even more terrible place right now! Thank you for this MyTake, but thank you even more for your tireless work helping to save your community!

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you!

I remember when we were told "it would be over by Easter"...

People just need to still be taking this seriously. For most, it is out of sight, out of mind. In reality, it is still a very huge problem for all.

Thank you again!

[CrazyGirl2]

Yes, my mom is the head of emergency medicine at the hospital & trauma center near her home. Our whole family was vaccinated as soon as the vaccine was available and approved for each of us. I still got it, but thanks to the vaccine it was milder than it otherwise would have been. I just wish politicians would stay away from healthcare issues, it only leads people to saying “well if politician X said “get the vaccine” I am definitely not getting it” Why, or how did THIS virus end up being the one with the party political affiliation? Anyway, thanks again for your MyTake, fantastic job!

[AmandaYVR]

KB, there should never have been any doubt that this should have been written, and posted.
It was beautifully written and that's because you wrote it from the heart, and anything written from the heart is never wrong.

I know this disease has become heavily, almost ridiculously, politicized, but you and thousands if not millions of frontline and essential services workers have an important story to tell. People should listen to you, read you, and be open. There is nothing that isn't true here.

Great job, and good for you for having the bravery (and the good sense to choose a great partner in life who knows how to support you well), to push you sometimes to do things you waver and fear doing. This was the right call. You should feel very good about yourself. And I'm sure your patients and their families feel the same. Life is so difficult at times, but your effort does not go unnoticed. If nothing else, remember that. You are dedicating your life to helping others and that is one of the greatest gifts a person can give.

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you so much for reading and your kind words! I appreciate it with every fiber of my being! Responses like yours make me realize that posting this was the right choice.

Thank you again!

[EnglishArtsteacher]

I absolutely love this myTake, and I absolutely agree with every word you put. My mom is a Registered Nurse who left the hospital back in 2013, and she swears to this day that was the best decision she ever made. Since 2014, she's been a work-from-home nurse for United Health Care, where she calls patients about their medical issues. She doesn't regret it at all.

Everything you said mimics exactly what I've been hearing from a vast majority of people in the Health Care field. Unfortunately, as you stated, the people who need to hear it are the people who purposely lie, and deny what's going on.

I'm triple-vaccinated right now, and if I need a fourth booster shot, so be it. I'll get my fourth dose as soon as I'm approved to do as such.

By the way, do you care to take the time to read my very personal decision via myTake? If you do, I'd appreciate it.

My myTake.

[SecretsofKB]

I will definitely give it a read!

[Levin]

I mean, as I always say, 40% of Americans are obese, and 2 thirds are overweight.

Why is the vaccine the solution when clearly the vast majority of the population are very unhealthy, have taken their health for granted. I don't see you harking on about personal responsibility and getting their house in order in that regard. This is the system that has created this sick society, so why should I trust it? It's almost certain that peoples' general health outcomes, not just through covid but in a wider sense, would be served much better through actually losing weight, moderating their food intake and moving about. You know, not like, taking a lift (elevator) to go up 1 flight of stairs.

Sorry, but ain't taking the poison.

I mean, to be fair, I do sympathise. I know you must have experienced horrific things and I know people like me must seem like total douchebags. I do think the essence of what I am saying is correct though. The vaccines are highly questionable in a lot of regards, especially pushing them on healthy children who are at virtually no risk at all. Apparently two children with no other conditions in the past 2 years have died in the UK from covid, obviously far more likely to die of a motoring incident. And yet we're trying to jab every child we can for what nefarious purpose?

[tiajoka]

People want to make others take the vaccine, but won’t say shit about their life choices. Unless you eat 100% healthy, work out every day and have perfect skin care ruitines, don’t talk to me. People take risk assessments every day. The vaccine doesn’t keep you from catching it, it just can (not always) reduce how sick you get. Which for young healthy people, why would they take a vaccine that makes them just as sick as covid does, if they might get sick from covid anyway? Crazy. Everyone who wants the vaccine has it, stop trying to guilt people into it unless you’re also going around fat shaming every obese person you see 🙄

[Levin]

@tiajoka Feeling you girl.

Don't get where this authoritarianism comes from where people want to force others to do as they do. I used to think the population were at least somewhat sane.

Yeah, it's rather odd, this all. Like, some people get pretty sick each time they get it. And they need a new one every few months. I mean, they don't even raise their eyebrows when they've had 3 rounds of this dubious concoction in less than 1 year. Because it's 'science', allegedly...

[ChrisMaster69]

A really good and emotional My Take.

I appreciate so much what you are going through and sacrificing.

It is a ticking time bomb around the world, the worlds health professionals are on a cliff edge.

PTSD is a very very real thing for frontline staff.

The mental health of health staff is taking a kicking and I believe this is a major problem we have yet to face.

it’s pretty much what the military go through with stress levels off the scale and having to dig deeper and deeper in to our personal reserves.

All my best for you and all others involved with caring for others over the last 2 years.

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you! People don't have a clue what is coming. More nurses are leaving staff positions and moving to traveling jobs (which our Congress is trying to put salary caps on...) and so many nurses are leaving bedside jobs altogether.

Your 6+ hour wait time at your local ER is only going to get worse.

[ChrisMaster69]

@SecretsofKB no problem.

Wait times here in the UK for normal everyday operations are crazy, there is a shortage across the board.

Where I live in the UK we have some of the best hospitals in the country and are in the top 100 in the world. Even with that they are struggling

theconversation.com/nhs-workers-will-need-help-to-manage-the-trauma-of-the-pandemic-154512

The main article.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7928568/

[ChrisMaster69]

@SecretsofKB congratulations

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you!!

[ChrisMaster69]

@SecretsofKB pleasure, you deserve it

[Ez-Bri-Z]

We so need actual points of views like this from nurses. As I've told you my mom is a nurse and while not in the ICU, she still deals with cases daily. She knows how deadly this can be and those who haven't been brainwashed by Facebook conspiracy theories who are still there working can attest to how bad it really is. Those are the voices we need to hear from.

These people who think they know it all from behind their rallying cries of freedom need to step back and realize that this isn't a normal "flu or cold". They haven't been personally affected and their selfish nature doesn't allow for the the deeper understanding of what is really occurring.

Thank you so much for writing this. Excellent MyTake.

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you! And my thoughts go out to your mom as well. No where is safe from this virus.

[nawtee_me]

@SecretsofKB Thank you for taking the time to write and rewrite and rewrite again this heartfelt message. As someone who knows first hand the effects of covid19 and the results that the virus is can have. I appreciate what you do, see and even might keep to yourself so others might not suffer as much.
In early 2019 I was infected and did not know it. I had no symptoms until it was to late. I had already brought it home and infected my family. My 96 year old father died from it and that was when my 84 year old mother and I found out we had it too. I ended up loosing my sense of taste and smell. My taste has come back mostly but my smell, very little.
My mother and I and my two brothers have had the shots and booster. The last thing I want is to give the virus to someone that might take it home with them. Where they might infect their family and one of them die from it as I did to my father. Then there was no vaccine. Now there is. It is not a cure but it will help a person to get over it quicker so it is less likely to have any long term effects.
I am sure that the mental stress that all of you go through weighs heavy on you and everyone around you. You probably got into critical care nursing to help your patients and watch them recover, not waste away and die before you. Before covid19 the medical profession was thought to be on top of its game. Covid19 showed us there are things out there no one is prepared for. Where would we be if not for you and others like you. Where would we be without those who do what they do, even if?
Again thank you for doing what you do...

[DonkeyDan]

Thank you, that was a very emotional MyTake. I can't begin to image what you've been through, and still have to face. I'd love to send you a big hug and let you know that I really appreciate your hard work and dedication. You are clearly a very strong person.
I understand how vital the vaccines and boosters are with the role I've played in peer review, and the role our research group has played.
I spent a lot of time initially trying to convince people that the vaccine isn't going to make you grow another head and it doesn't have a tracking chip in it, and all the number of other crazy and insane theories from around the web. But after a while you just give up wasting your breath on people who think they know better than medical professionals.
How is it that our world has come to a point where some people will believe some faker on YouTube over medical professionals? I just don't get it!
Once again thank you ♥️♥️🤗🤗

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you so much!

I've gotten to the point where I just want to drag them through the ICU instead of wasting my breath. Let them see it with their own eyes.

[DonkeyDan]

I'd say drag them through there was no PPE on to teach them a lesson, but then you might have to care for them in a couple of weeks.

[Anonymous]

Everything you just said would make perfect sense if the 'vaccine' prevented spread, and prevented infection. And why did the dictionaries quietly change the definition of 'vaccination' to fit the uselessness of the new COVID ones?

Why are the most fully 'vaccinated' countries all having the highest numbers of cases? Why is Isreal one of the most highly 'vaccinated' seeing such a dramatic surge in new COVID Cases?

All of your comments do not address reality. And further more, the Government and the very people that you work for have been hiding, censoring and banning the molecule that is the cure (no money in a non patentable molecule). And while the Government are calling the molecule a COVID Hoax, I've seen it save lives with my own eyes. And here is something else you might want to think about. A perfectly independent woman now needs to have a carer to help her do the most simplest of tasks.. such as putting dishes into a dishwasher because the COVID shot you are so passionate about has poisoned her causing her health problems.

[Opinion Owner]

www.israeltoday.co.il/.../

'Top media personality slams disregard for Israeli study showing vaccinated more likely to be infected than those with natural antibodies. Ministry of Health responds'

'Israelis are frustrated by the fact that their nation has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates (over 60 percent are fully vaccinated, and 25 percent have already had a booster), and yet is also leading the world in daily rate of new infections.'

The study was carried out last month by Israel’s Maccabi Healthcare Services (one of the local HMOs), and the results were featured in the leading scientific journals Science and Nature. (See: Why is Israel Still Giving COVID Boosters if the WHO Said to Stop?) But it only garnered serious attention here at home this week, when veteran Israeli journalist and Channel 13 News anchor Oshrat Kotler expressed her disapproval over the findings not being widely reported in Israel.

“How sad that I had to read about this important Israeli research on an American news site,” Kotler wrote on Facebook. The journalist added that she had contacted Maccabi and confirmed the veracity of the headline she had read, which asserted, based on the Maccabi study, that “vaccinated individuals are 13 times more likely to be infected by the Delta variant than those with natural antibodies.”

Indeed, the majority of the nearly 700 Israelis currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 are fully vaccinated against that virus, and vaccinated individuals make up a large percentage, if not a majority of those testing positive every day.'

[Opinion Owner]

Here is a video from a Doctor that has been pushing the COVID 'vaccines' right from the start. Now he has to admit he was wrong because of the data released by Pfizer.

https://youtu.be/7YOD9drZasM

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but governments are being super damn creepy about vaccinations and are violating people's rights. I get that you see the worst of it, but a fraction of people dying does not suspend the right's of others. The only person a vaccination protects is the person who gets it, it should be their choice as to whether they take it and that freedom is trying to be eroded. Meanwhile the authoritarian measures like vaccine passports only serve to allow sick vaccinated people to go anywhere they want and spread it around.

e. g. I do medical physics, naturally I have to go into the hospital to do medical physicist stuff. While I was likely covid positive without knowing it at the time, I was let in because I am vaccinated, putting people at risk. Alternatively, I contracted it there, which is the same problem, it put me at risk -- vaccine passports do nothing to inhibit the spread.

Yet, this is all framed as if unvaccinated people are dangerous when the only person at risk is themselves and unreasonable measures are being put in place and expanded upon to control people. Not just unvaccinated people, it affects all of society. There's a $2000 fine in place for not telling the government where I go at any given time. Camps we can be taken to without due process -- essentially coerced and kidnapped by the government. So I didn't tell the government I got covid. And I encourage other people to reject all of these mandates.

If people are to make an honest choice to take the vaccine they must have that choice in the first place. All these mandates, passports, tracking apps, media and social pressure needs to stop before it can be an honest choice.

[SecretsofKB]

You've totally missed the point and seem to be focused of vaccine paasports which I've never seen enacted.

Hospitals are overwhelmed. I have seen a few deaths of both COVID and non-COVID patients that's may have been completely preventable, but the patient was unable to get a be in my ICU because they were all taken by unvaccinated COVID patients.

It may not stop people from getting out spreading the virus, but it does a hell of a good job keeping people out of my ICU.

At this point, that's all I'm looking for.

[Opinion Owner]

I got the point, I just have little to say about it.

My point is speaking to the justifications people are being resistant.

[crunchy98]

Did you say camps? where is this?

[Opinion Owner]

@crunchy98 Howard Springs

No crimes committed, no due process. Just "you're coming with us".
www.news.com.au/.../43a56e8b349fef236d9fd79c3ee8a15c

And it's a problem that Australian citizens who have committed no crimes and are not under arrest aren't free to move as they please. They're not under arrest, they're not imprisoned as criminals, yet the cops will chase you down and capture you if you "escape". We shouldn't accept that kind of thing from the government.
www.sbs.com.au/.../fj1cmpwzg

[Surely]

I thank you for your service and the long days where you were helpless to do anything for your patients but try to make them comfortable in some minuscule way.
It is a shame that Covid became so politicized from the very beginning. Just because of the hate of one person.
The few times that I needed to travel in the first lockdown. There were more people on the interstates from states miles away then local people.
The Covid maps showed higher density along the state’s boarders of the neighboring states that had higher levels of Covid. Maybe if people stayed put at first, we would be back to normal.
My question now is. Why are certain treatments not allowed by scientists that seem to work on people to prevent or reduce symptoms?
Could it be the money that the vaccine manufacturers would loose if those other already tested drugs would work?
by the way. I have had the first two jabs and just got over Covid. All because a woman with a 104 fever couldn’t stay home. Fortunately I have had worst colds .
Again, thank you for your service.

[Still-alive]

Very touching. My mom was an ER nurse who is now retired so i can somewhat understand what you are going through because she's been through the aids epidemic in the 80s. she's seen a lot of terrible things too. But yeah this pandemic is something else and to make matters worse you got dumb people still saying its fake.

i know you are tired and discouraged but ill just say right now we do appreciate you being there. It seems like deep down you truly care and that means a lot in the long run. The hospitals where i live have the words ‘Heroes work here’ out front and that definitely applies to you! We love you ok

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you!!! I really appreciate it!

[Still-alive]

I want to tag @SaoirseS here cause her being a funeral director sees a lot of the tragic consequences of covid. I think she might relate

[SaoirseS]

@Still-alive. I already had a heads up but thanks for tagging me. This is quite a moving piece, and definitely accurate. I'll comment more separately when it slows down today.

[Still-alive]

@SaoirseS cool. Im sure your experience with all the bodies of covid will be valuable to @SecretsofKB here

[SecretsofKB]

@SaoirseS Thank you in advance!!

[PrettyPriya]

What a well written and incredibly touching MyTake. I definitely have some tears from reading about all these losing their loved ones.

Thanks to you and all frontline healthcare workers for your tireless efforts and patience. You do not get enough recognition for all the suffering you go through.

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you!! I am just ready for life to go back to something resembling normal.

[PrettyPriya]

@SecretsofKB I agree completely. Perhaps a glimpse into your world and the needless suffering will persuade some to act. Even if it is one person, it will be worth your time having written this.

All the suffering is certainly not just from those that are sick, but the mental health of all you healthcare workers having to see it day in and day out. Thank you and all the others for what they do.

[SecretsofKB]

@PrettyPriya Exactly. I always said that I wanted to hold tours of my ICU. Bring people through to see with their own eyes what it looks like to be dying from COVID. A lot of minds might change from that.

[Jasmine-Darkfire]

Thank you for a well written mytake. It is a little scary for me personally as I started school right before covid started with the intention of entering the healthcare field.

I am still planning on it though, but yours is not the first I have heard, just the first here. Thank you for such a truthful insight.

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you!

I never want to discourage anyone from going into healthcare. That being said, there are significant problems with our system aside from COVID.

I'm really hoping that by the time you graduate and make it to the work force we have at least the major ones solved for you.

Good luck!!! If you have any questions,, let me know!

[WonderBell99]

Very well-written MyTake. This one touched my heart. All the healthcare workers out there are doing God’s work. Thank you so much for your service. Healthcare workers are the real heroes. We truly appreciate you. I’ve gotten the jab and all of my family members have gotten it. I’ve been encouraging people to get vaccinated as well, but you know how some people can be.. some people will never change. Let’s hope this pandemic ends soon. Sending loads of love and hugs 🧡

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate it!!!

[zeitgeist057]

Help is on the way!

I'm just one person, but I'm in RN school now, with my eye on ICU. What you wrote hit me, and I'm sorry for everything you've been through. I just want you to know I'm going to be there in a couple years to do what I can.

Thank you for posting this, it's one of the meaningful pieces on here, of which we need more of.

[SecretsofKB]

Thank you! Good luck with school!! You got this!!