Category: opinion

It’s important to start out this post by saying that my views are entirely my own, not meant to be representative nor endorsed by my employer, my medical directors, or anyone other than myself as an individual. (Although my employer posted this on instagram today, which bears consideration.)

Hello everyone,

My name is Taylor Sloan, and I’m a paramedic. I was a paramedic years before the  pandemic started and I will likely be a paramedic for years to come. In the time of COVID-19, I’ve been a supervisor of a large ambulance service, and worked in both 911 and inter-facility transport settings. I’ve seen hundreds of some of the sickest COVID-19 patients. Gratefully, as one of the millions of “healthcare heroes” (your words, decidedly not mine), I was one of the first in my community to be able to receive my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on December 21, 2020 (time flies).

At the time, I thought this would be a red letter moment marking the departure from this godforsaken plague. What has happened since is not at all what I had hoped. That said, if I’m being honest, the pragmatic part of my mind predicted at least some of it. I accepted the reality that as grateful and excited as I and many of my healthcare worker compatriots were to receive that first dose of what felt like the way out of this pandemic, there would be those who would refuse vaccination.