2024 Update
November 2024:
David Kennedy, possibly patient zero in this story, passed away in his sleep in October 2023, or as he might put it — moved on to the next realm. He was a true character, and I feel fortunate to have met him. Opening up his life to talk about this intimately personal story carried a lot of weight for the entire piece and I am grateful to him for his generosity.
The interview below with an infectious disease physician is chock-full of wisdom and is emblematic of how I felt about the topic when compiling the story. It’s being posted more than 2 years after the other subjects, because I wanted to initially focus on those who had experienced this event and yet had never told their stories.
Finally, I felt an increased importance to share Dr. Zimmer’s perspective now more than ever as an anti-vaccine activist has been nominated to lead the Health and Human Services in Trump’s cabinet next year. While it’s okay to disagree about policy, I just contend that ignoring science does not serve the greater good very well, if at all.
INTERVIEW with infectious disease expert, Dr. Shanta Zimmer, M.D.
8-25-2022
Could retroviruses (f1) explain why someone could recover from polio symptoms in a single day?
No. It’s more complicated than that.
There’s lots of variability:
● Were you infected by the host?
● Were you previously infected and have a low dose?
● Is there herd immunity?
● Were you previously vaccinated?
● Did you have a breatkthrough viral replication?
As we saw with COVID, lots of people had severe symptoms before a vaccine was available, some had no symptoms, some people died, some had a stuffy nose. We know certain factors carried greater risk such as being obese, older, and immunocompromised. There are components in every person that everyone has that we don’t fully understand.
If you could put on your hat as an infectious disease physician, can you think of an instance when vaccines should be mandated? Under what conditions does that make sense?
I’ll take off all [my professional] hats and put on my mom hat.
From a parent perspective, both my kids are healthy fortunately. I know families with kids who are immunocompromised. These are the most vulnerable in society. We have a need to protect them - children and families who are vulnerable and at risk.
One thing that bothers me is people who say they’re not going to get a vaccine because, ‘I don’t want to be told what to do with my life.’ It lacks a sense of caring for others. I want my kids to grow up and care in a society that cares about each other. It might involve doing something one doesn’t want to do.
“I understand the argument, ‘You’re taking away my rights’. But it’s a mistaken approach to our contract with society.”
Look at peanut allergies. My kids like peanut butter sandwiches and they’re easy to make. But the kids’ school sent out a message about students who were allergic to peanuts and they would not allow peanuts in school. Just brushing up against someone for instance at lunch while eating a peanut butter sandwich could cause anaphylaxis (a severe life-threatening whole-body response).
Now I could say, that’s a violation of my freedoms. Just keep them over there. OR…, can I take the inconvenient step and make an egg salad sandwich instead? I can. For the care of others, I can. As a parent I feel strongly about it.
Obviously as a healthcare worker, I feel strongly about protecting patients too. We do all kinds of things: Wash hands, wear masks, don’t come to work when sick. Pledging to take care of patients is what we sign up for.
We have a responsibility to take care of one another. The idea that I should get to do whatever I want, replaces the idea of taking care of one another…
Why are vaccines required to become a medical school student even if one’s religious beliefs might be counter to that philosophy?
Medical students don’t fully adopt their identity as a physician yet. We call it professional identity formation (f2).
But medical students work in clinical settings with patients where some are going to be immunocompromised; The people in the hospital are not healthy, right?
We establish early on that students are in contract with patients and hospital partners and that to take a vaccine decreases risk. Nothing is 100% risk-free, but it significantly reduces the harm to patients by not transmitting an infection.
(author’s paraphrase) Students can be educated to be a physician but they won’t be accommodated with religious exemptions as a student or after they graduate. Most hospitals and clinics require infection interventions of various vaccines e.g. hep b, influenza.
-- Footnotes —
F1. Retrovirus
A retrovirus is a virus that uses RNA as its genomic material. Upon infection with a retrovirus, a cell converts the retroviral RNA into DNA, which in turn is inserted into the DNA of the host cell. The cell then produces more retroviruses, which infect other cells.
F2. Professional Identity Formation
Professional identity formation is a complex and transformational process of internalizing a profession's core values and beliefs. It requires intentional educational strategies that result in students thinking, acting and feeling like physicians upon graduation.