Hill Gets Shot Of Vaccine Encouragement

Cornell Scott Hill Health Center CEO Michael Taylor got his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine when a patient did not show up for their vaccination appointment.

The only side effect he experienced was a sore arm.

Taylor told this story to Hill neighbors on Tuesday evening as health care professionals continue their tour of community management teams and encourage New Haveners to sign up for the shot when they are able to under the state’s rollout.

“I had the Moderna vaccine — only because once that vaccine is unpackaged, it cannot be repackaged,” Taylor said. ​“That’s how I was fortunate enough to get a shot. I experienced soreness for two days, and as you can see, I’m perfectly healthy now.”

Last week, the Dwight Central Management Team peppered Yale doctors with questions about allergy interactions, vaccine company choices and more.

The Hill North Community Management Team kept the question-and-answer session short, to get through a lengthy agenda.

Neighbor Radu Radulescu asked in the virtual meeting chat whether someone who tested positive for Covid-19 could get the shot. If so, why?

Yale New Haven Hospital doctor Sameer Khan answered that the scientific community does not know yet how long someone is immune to Covid-19 after they have gotten the disease. There was some early evidence that the antibodies developed by getting the disease stop protecting the body after six months, so people who have gotten Covid-19 are allowed to get the vaccine three months after their infection and as their cohort becomes eligible.

He said that one of the residents in the program he administers got Covid-19 in March. The resident has now gotten the vaccine and hasn’t had a different reaction to it from anyone else’s.

The follow-up question popped up: How long does the vaccine protect from Covid-19?

Khan said that the studies on the vaccine were months long, so we don’t know yet whether the protection will last years.

He continued to refer to experiences his residents have had or that he has seen among his patients. His younger patients, for example, are more likely to weigh the risks of side effects from the vaccine higher than the risks of the effects of getting Covid-19.

“I think the conversation is less frequently about what happens to some of the young people who get Covid — our 30-year-olds and our 40-year-olds who still can’t exercise like they used to,” Khan said. ​“Even young people often take far longer to recover than you would think.”

Among the 140 residents in Khan’s program who have gotten vaccinated, the biggest complaint after the shot was a sore arm, followed by fatigue. YNHH employees with allergies have not experienced worse side effects than their peers have.

“Across 140 residents, we have not had a severe reaction to either vaccine,” Khan reported.