January 26, 2021
Dear Caregiver Employee, I would like to say thank you for all you do, to provide continuous care to our individuals on a daily basis. Without your continual efforts and dedication, our individuals would not be as healthy and happy as they are today. We recognize the challenges you face, forcing you to continually adapt to new protocols as we navigate through this pandemic while keeping yourselves and your families safe. Despite the challenges that we’ve all faced, our company chooses to believe that this is a time of renewed hope!
At Caregiver, we have been planning and taking the necessary steps to ensure that our individuals and employees have the opportunity, if they so choose, to receive the vaccine in a timely manner based on current availability. In each of our states of operation, we registered all our individuals and employees early with the Federal/Ancor partnership COVID vaccine project, in an effort to make vaccinations available to all our individuals and employees. We have been hosting vaccination clinics since December 12, 2020 and will continue with open vaccination clinics until this initiative has been complete.
We understand that many of you may have concerns about the vaccination and have chosen not to receive the vaccination at this time. We can certainly understand your worries and hear your concerns. As an essential employee providing care to individuals with multiple diagnoses and are deemed high-risk, it is even more critical that you educate yourself on the benefits and safety of the vaccine and choose to be vaccinated for the health and safety of yourself and those you interact with on a daily basis. Our number one priority is the safety of our individuals and our employees. In order to accomplish this goal of health and safety, it is critical that our employees get vaccinated. Choosing to get the COVID-19 vaccination will begin giving you protection against the virus and could also protect the individuals you care for, your co-workers, and your family members.
The CDC maintains that the vaccine is safe (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety.html) and below are key points regarding the EUA COVID-19 vaccination:
- All current COVID-19 vaccinations available in the United States are effective in preventing the COVID-19 disease.
- The most common side effects are pain in the arm where you receive the injection, lethargy, headache, body aches, fever, and chills.
- Stopping a pandemic requires a lot of work from an enormous volume of the population before it will be effective, so Caregiver will still abide by the CDC recommendations to wear masks, social distance at least 6 feet from people that do not live with you, avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing your hands. Listed below are quick links to provide additional information to help answer any questions you may have on the safety of the vaccine:
On a personal note, as an RN, I have been fortunate enough to have been offered the vaccination and have already received it, as have many of our other Caregiver Nurses. It was important to me that I protect others and myself from COVID-19, and I hope you will seriously consider the same.
Your health and safety continue to be our priority. If you have any questions about the upcoming vaccination efforts, please contact your Area Director or Area Nurse.
Finally, thank you for your ongoing support, care and commitment to our individuals during these unparalleled times.
Sincerely,
Randi Morgan, RN BSN
Vice President |Clinical Services