Nathaniel Polnaszek: Associate Professor at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine

[BeckyDem]

I’m upset, saddened and frustrated. As a physician I devote my life to taking care of people. I feel helpless right now as I watch another wave of COVID 19 hospitalizations taking over our healthcare system. Most hospitals in the region have put a halt on scheduling elective surgeries for the foreseeable future. This includes any surgeries that would not lead to death or permanent impairment if delayed beyond 72h. This means that thousands of patients with heart disease, severe joint pain, kidneys stones, cancer, etc. will need to delay their care for weeks on end. Right now, my colleagues and I are canceling almost all of our surgeries so that we have enough beds and staff to handle the influx of hospitalized COVID 19 patients. It pains me greatly to tell my cancer patients that I need to push their surgery back without any assurances about when their surgery can be rescheduled or if this will impact the outcome of treatment.

That leads me to my point… The only way we can get out of this mess is to get as many human beings vaccinated as possible. Vaccines are NOT a personal choice. Your vaccination status affects everyone around you. While there is not any guarantee that you will not contract the virus if you are vaccinated, there is a strong likelihood that you will stay out of the hospital and not need a ventilator. Those beds will allow us to treat your friend, neighbor, or family member that needs life saving surgery.
The COVID 19 delta variant is estimated to spread from a single infected person to 10 others. My ask is that anyone that reads this, please send a message to 10 other friends or family that may not yet be vaccinated to encourage them to do so. This is not meant to embarrass or “call out” anyone. A friendly phone call or text would suffice.

Thank you all.

https://www.facebook.com/nathaniel.polnaszek


( So many great human beings trying their best against the insanity of our lifetimes. )

[ananda]

1. Spread this everywhere.

Vaccines are NOT a personal choice.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. What a well-written appeal this is! If only the ones who need to read it, would read it. n/t

[BeckyDem]

3. I thought so too. I cried when I read it because he sounds so down and his plea

so heartfelt. I had to post it.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Aw, my dear BeckyDem...

[BeckyDem]

5. I hope more people listen to him.

[RockRaven]

6. Willfully unvaccinated pricks are killing their neighbors via cancer, heart failure, and the like,

because of delayed treatment/surgery, not just via COVID infections as often portrayed in their "well, if you're vaccinated what are you worried about, unless the vaccines don't really work?" bullshit.

[Initech]

7. And the really sad thing is that this wave could have been prevented.

But because fucking idiots didn't do what they were supposed to, this is now what I'm calling a "pandumbic".

[BeckyDem]

8. Totally. It never had to be like this.

[Initech]

9. And I get pissed when I see idiots scream about their "freedumbs!!!1!!!1!".

You want freedom? Get the damn vaccine! Then you can go about living your life the way you want to again.

Don't get it? You're part of the problem of why our healthcare system is getting overwhelmed and why it gives the virus new opportunities to mutate.

These morons will do just about anything but take 15 minutes out of their day to get a free injection of a vaccine that could save their life.

[luv2fly]

10. The anti-vaxxers know this and don't give a shit

No amount of appealing to their theoretical kind inner selves will ever make a dent. These stories are as repetitious as the anti-vaxxers laying in the hospital who suddenly find jesus. Nobody cares.