‘It’s been tough’

Jamaica-born nurse Dr Sandra Lindsay is urging the Government to determine the main reasons Jamaicans are hesitant about taking the COVID-19 vaccine in order to provide practical solutions and boost take-up amid rising infection numbers in the island.

Lindsay, the director of nursing for critical care at Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, was the first American to be immunised against COVID-19.

She reasoned that the vaccine is the best defence against COVID-19, which has infected 55,456 Jamaicans and claimed 1,241 lives up to Monday.

A small survey at her hospital found that a number of staff had not taken the vaccine because they were fearful of needles.

She pointed out that people have fainted at the sight of the needle, which led the management to create a vaccine spa.

“They come in and they get a spa experience. We hold their hands, they get pampering, a little massage just to help them relax, and some anaesthetics at the site of the injection before that jab. So far, the feedback on that has been very good,” she shared.

“It’s been tough.”

That is how she described the past 18 months, which has revealed that she is more resilient than she once thought.

“It has been really tough to deal with your own personal loss, loss from people around you that you work with, their families; just having to support them through this difficult ordeal. But I’ve also been able to show my vulnerability, which I think is a very important aspect of being a leader,” she told The Gleaner.

Though many patients are not dying now at her hospital, as was the case in March to May of 2020, every death takes an emotional toll on her, especially because it is from a virus that can be prevented.

She recalled a day when she went to collect personal protective equipment for her staff and observed trucks lined up on the streets.

Morgues were at their capacity and freezer trucks were being used to store bodies.

“I just broke down. It really hit me that day, the magnitude of what we’re dealing with. This overwhelming loss and death, people were dying alone because their families couldn’t come. As much as my nurses made a pledge that no patient would die alone, they wanted to hold hands and FaceTime families to say goodbye, the number of deaths that were happening, sometimes it was impossible to hold everyone’s hand or to whisper in somebody’s ear a message from a husband, a wife, a mother or father, to say, ‘Tell my loved one I love them’,” she told The Gleaner.

The most traumatic experience she has had, was the death of an employee in the intensive care unit.

There are also nurses on her team who are yet to return to work, as they are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“They cannot set foot back in that hospital. I have staff who got COVID and are still experiencing long-haul symptoms, who cannot come back to work yet,” she said sombrely.

The Delta variant now makes up about 83 per cent of all the COVID-19 strains in New York.

Before her trip to Jamaica, Lindsay noted that there was a small uptick in infections, which was being closely monitored by the hospitals.

Lindsay shared that there are more cases in areas where vaccination rates are very low.

Post-COVID, hand hygiene is the primary infection-prevention measure she believes should remain in effect.

While she is not versed on the ins and outs of Jamaica’s healthcare infrastructure, she asserted that greater focus should be placed on health promotion.

Lindsay said that around the world, many poor people have died because untreated comorbidities placed them at a greater risk of developing serious illnesses from COVID-19.

Further, efforts should be made to provide greater access to healthcare for all Jamaicans, she believes.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com