DOCTORS ' LOUNGE
DOCTORS ' LOUNGE
SPEAK YOUR MIND If you would like to respond to an article in this issue , please submit an article or letter to the editor . Contributions may be sent to editor @ glms . org . The GLMS Editorial Board reserves the right to choose what will be published . Please note that the views expressed in Doctors ’ Lounge or any other article in this publication are not those of the Greater Louisville Medical Society or Louisville Medicine .
And roll up your sleeve , you ’ re about
to get the COVID-19 vaccine for sure .
Dr . George Nichols put me next , as I am under 70 and not working . In order to feel protected sooner , and to - at last ! - fight back against this evil beast , I could volunteer out at Broadbent Arena with the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness ( LMDPHW ) for 40 hours or more , and get vaccinated “ ahead of phase .”
And so can you ! I plan to stick with it till the happy ending , which may well be early 2022 . The Health Dept ., led by Dr . Sarah Moyer , had to design this on the fly , and they have steadily perfected the flow of cars . As we get more vaccine supply , the lines of waiting cars get longer : remember , it ’ s free to you , and it can save your life . If you ’ re in that car line , bring books and knitting and music and rejoice , it ’ s your turn at last . Repeat after me : “ I will turn my car off at every station .” That ’ s your mantra . We ’ re keeping the air clean and the lanes safe .
But we need your help . You don ’ t have to have medical skills . You can direct traffic , in all weathers , just like the post office . In flooding rain or freezing wind , and later , standing on the scorched asphalt at the Fairgrounds , you can get us all there safely . The good news ? Ring Road is virtually empty , it ’ s not like jockeying for your life as you left the Cardinals ’ games at Freedom Hall . Directing traffic divas can develop quite a style , with the LMPD always there as backup . You get to order people around , too - nicely , of course .
You can also be the Good Shepherd , keeping watch over the just-vaccinated , walking the lines of cars and checking the recipients for side effects / reactions . You ’ ll develop quite a pattern but in
TURN OFF YOUR CAR AUTHOR Mary Barry , MD
fact , a couple of vaccine-getters have had delayed fainting out there and we ’ ve helped them . We have rarely needed the ever-present ambulance , but we have transported a few people . So keep your eyes peeled .
You can also join team Support as the clipboard-sanitizer , the vaccine-delivery runner , the quality control checker , etc . We have a car-pushing team and a firefighter always in the Arena , with a battery-starter at hand . ( The firefighters have the best pickup trucks , I say - don ’ t @ me .) Louisville Metro employees furloughed from school jobs have been a big help in team Support .
You can be a scribe , making sure the vaccine-getter has filled out all the paperwork , answering questions , double-checking names and dates . You can be a screener , reviewing all the information and filling out the all-important vaccine record and appointment card , helping to document risks for the recipient , and triple-checking names and dates of birth . Clinical expertise is handy , but not required here . At the next station , there are always nurses , APRNs and usually a doctor or two . We can help the non-medical screeners ascertain the nature of previous allergic reactions of all kinds and make a judgement of actual risk , as determined by the vaccine ’ s emergency use authorization guidelines , as opposed to theoretical risks . The screeners at this station do get handed medical questions which worry them , so we are always just steps away to ask .
Please - be a pharmacist . Without your help , the entire operation grinds to a halt . Only pharmacists can open the vials and draw up the syringes . The vaccines have to be handled with utter precision , since if not used within six hours , opened vials must be discarded . Our current vaccine is Moderna , which is refrigerated , not frozen , but if not used , it ’ s dead and wasted . The University of Louisville and LMDPHW staff in charge , led by Dr . Ruth Carrico , PhD / DNP and
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