Episode 10: Dr. April Randhawa answers your questions about the Covid-19 vaccine
Welcome to episode 10. Rounding out this season is an episode about the biggest thing happening in front of our faces right now, the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine.
This has been a big year for science. A global pandemic brought us one of the largest collaborative advances in vaccines - a 95% effective vaccine developed and brought to market in just under a year. Through my own life lens, I just assumed that naturally everyone was as ready to get this as I was. I’m a white women who has full trust in scientists and believes that vaccines save lives, period. So imagine my surprise when the rollout started just after the new year and I learned that lots - like 30% of eligible healthcare workers were hesitant to get vaccinated.
I have big feelings about things - if you listen to this show you’ve probably realized that. I had big initial feelings about people turning down an opportunity to get this scientific miracle injected into their bodies. But then I started reading. The amount of confusing information online is abundant. Even for a vaccine enthusiast, the questions arising seemed sometimes legitimate, sometimes just urban legend, but in any event, worth exploring. There are questions around fertility, microchips, the speed at which the FDA authorized it - all legitimate questions that I didn’t have answers to. Which led me on a search to find someone who does.
Ellen Kwana, founder of www.wegotthisseattle.org, former guest, was generous enough to answer my call when I asked if she knew of anyone who is a vaccine educator, or hesitancy specialist who could answer this bevvy of questions. She connected me with Dr. April Randhawa who is on the team at the Covid 19 Prevention Network at the Fred Hutchinson cancer research center. Dr. Randhawa has been a part of the Covid-19 vaccine trials since the onset - she takes us through her experience - but she is an actual expert in immune response with a PHd in Experimental Medicine. She has first person insight into how these trials were run, the safety measures taken, and how the vaccine actually works. She’s credible, she’s brilliant, and she breaks down common questions with empathy. We spent an hour together chatting.
My goal in this podcast is to maybe help save some lives. As April said, the only way we can get past this pandemic is to address fears with empathy, facts, and education. All of her resources will be linked in my social media. Please share this episode widely if you think it might help your peers make an educated decision about whether or not to get this vaccine. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but like everything else, we have to be in this together.
Thank you so much for listening. This podcast has become a calling for me and it makes me so happy to know that the stories I’m finding are finding a home with all of you. Season 3 is in the works - I’m working on interviews that deal with human trafficking, opioid addiction, postpartum depression - all big things happening to all of us. This is the place where we ask questions and talk about them. You can find me on Twitter @infrontofmyface, on IG @rightinfrontofmyface.
You can find the Covid 19 Prevention Network here: https://www.instagram.com/preventcovid19/
Want to listen in on a training seminar? You can find a free one here through the Covid-19 Prevention Network:
https://coronaviruspreventionnetwork.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PreventCOVID19
https://www.instagram.com/preventcovid19/
https://twitter.com/preventcovid_19
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpOWHfd2CjhIhaITS4vfueA
And if you’d like to donate to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute in light of the fact that these brilliant scientists don’t charge a speaking fee so the public can get credible vaccine information please do that here: