Posts tagged: developmental disabilities

Support, Inc. is offering insight into the vaccination process as documented by our Director of People Operations. Read below to learn more about the vaccination process from Nick’s perspective as he received his first dose in the Denver Metro Area.

Hello All,

I am Nicholas Manning, the Director of People Operations at Support, Inc. I currently oversee our Human Resources Department, and have been with Support, Inc. since May of 2015. If you know me, you most likely have met me in my former role as an Associate Director in the Denver/Metro Area.

I would like to share my experience getting the COVID-19 vaccine with all of you. Now, you may or may not assume that this choice was easy for me, it was not.

I am a person of color and identify as a member of the Black community. I have always had concerns about vaccines due to generational trauma and a general desire to not go to the doctor for anything other than a medical emergency. From the infamous Tuskegee Experiment to the misrepresentation of the voices of POC on medical boards, etc., feeling comfortable being on the front line of receiving medical treatment is not something I feel terribly comfortable with.

However, I found it important for me to receive this vaccination , like no other time before.

Here is a bit about my journey.

The reasons:

Black, Hispanic, and Native American people are about 4 times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly 3 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people. Yet African Americans have nearly the lowest rates of vaccination among any ethnic group. In fact, white Americans are being vaccinated at a rate 3 times higher than Black Americans. New CDC figures show that of those who have received at least the first dose of a vaccine, 5.4% are Black people, compared to 60% who are white people. According to recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, about 35% of Black Americans said they don’t plan to get the vaccine, citing fears about safety and concerns that the vaccines.

As I have stated, these concerns are rooted in distrust over time and I hope that my story can help provide insight on the vaccine from someone you can connect with personally, not simply a stat on a website. Additionally, I felt that being a person from my community who decided to receive the vaccine, I could share my experiences with others in hopes of supporting others regardless of whether or not they decided to also.

How:

First, I utilized a link connecting me to Tri-County for an appointment. Now, this process has been frustrating, and many of us can understand how and why. There are a lot of people wanting it (about 80% of the adult population) and the system itself has not caught up to the demand. However, after some time and support I was able to access to an appointment. However, things came up, as they do with most of us so I had to change it. I was scared, and hoped that I would not lose the opportunity. I was successfully able to move my appointment to Wednesday 17^th, 2021.

I was sent an email with clear directions. I was instructed to sit in my car and await a phone call before entering the Tri-County East Aurora location.

I received the call and was instructed to head inside. I was a bit nervous and also excited. I am hopeful this will protect me, the people I care for both at home and our Support, Inc. Community.

I headed in with my official leader from our CEO Bentley Smith, that is available to us.

I got to the doors and moved through the secure building. People inside were respectful as I checked in.

As I awaited for my appointment, I filled out a single page document. Questions we are used to as of now. Have I been exposed to COVID-19? Have I traveled outside of the United States in the last 14 days? Etc. I gave the desk clerk my paper and sat down. Within minutes I was asked to come back.

Alecia, a data collector and registered nurse was my Shot Giver for the day. Alecia sat me down and reviewed my form with me. She asked me about my experiences and educated me on how my answers mattered. She also provided me the attached PDF. She was transparent and discussed that the CDC wants to help us stay healthy as well as gain important information from us individual to track the success of the vaccine. She offered to answer any questions I had before she even prepared the shot. She stated that she wanted to make sure I felt comfortable with the information before moving forward. Alecia shared information about the trend of data to how effective I can expect the vaccine to be. Though early signs suggest the vaccine is effective, I was still encouraged to wear a mask following my second dose to ensure the safety of our community. She informed me that I was to remain in the waiting room for 15 minutes to ensure I do not have an allergic reaction. She also explained I would most likely feel some ache in my arm and the best way to ensure it was minimal was to use it and frequently. She informed me that Tylenol and Ibuprofen were fine to use even though some social media reports said otherwise.

She prepared my arm and I received the shot. It felt the same as most shots, no real pain outside of the assumed pinch. (I was not allowed to record the actual shot, I tried). I received my vaccine dose, thanked her for her time and headed to the waiting room. I waited 15 minutes and did not feel adverse effects so I stood up, got a drink from the vending machine and went home.

My arm ached about 48 hours after with some slight swelling (thought it was my muscles, but nope… just swelling). It has subsided in day 3. I have had no illness reactions as of now. No fever, no cough, no headache.

My experience may be unique. I also believe that many of us read so much on the internet that may influence us to be more or less willing to move forward and having a person who they can interact with share their experience may be more meaningful. I also understand that my privilege of not have any health risks, nor planning on being pregnant/breast feeding, is a benefit I have that many who may read this do not.

Currently, data does not show adverse risk to those who are pregnant or have moderate health risks as the information is still very new, but also remains positive to date.

If you have any personal or general questions about my experiences, please reach out to me directly at Nicholas.Manning@supportinc.com. I do not mind talking with you personally.

The following information was produced by our Associate Director of Quality Assurance, Laura Viers, on February 3rd, 2021:

To all Support, Inc. Staff, Providers and Families,

Colorado continues to review and update the State’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. On the updated plan below, highlighted in green are the groups the state is currently offering the vaccine to, this is people in Phase 1A and Phase 1B.1. The biggest change to the updated plan includes splitting Phase 1B into additional categories. This includes moving Coloradoan’s who are age 65-69 up in eligibility to Phase 1B.2, this will be the next group of people to have access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Governor Polis announced the Sate expects to move into Phase 1B.2 on February 8^th.

Group 1B.3 includes Coloradoan’s age 16-64 who have two or more high risk conditions. Many individuals in services may be eligible in this phase of the vaccine.  The state has defined these high risk categories to include; Coloradoan’s with cancer (defined as a patient currently receiving treatment or having received treatment within the last month for cancer), chronic kidney disease, COPD, diabetes mellitus, Down Syndrome, specific heart conditions (heart failure, cardiomyopathies, or coronary heart disease, and severe valvular/congenital heart disease), obesity ((BMI ≥ 30kg/m^2), pregnancy, sickle cell disease, solid organ transplant and people with disabilities that prevent them from wearing masks.

Now is the time to discuss with the individual(s) you support what their desire is for getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Having these conversations now will ensure the individual’s team understands the person’s wishes regarding the vaccine as well as any supports that may be needed once the individual is eligible. Having a plan now is crucial to ensure individuals can get the supports needed to access the vaccine when they become eligible.

There is a lot happening with seemingly constant changes regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. While employees and contractors of Support, Inc. are eligible in Phase 1B.1 vaccine availability across the state varies and there is a larger demand for the vaccine than there is supply to meet that demand. Each county health department has a different process for connecting eligible Coloradoans with a vaccine provider. Some counties have been slower to get appointments set up or respond to our requests for large scale clinics for our employees and contractors. The slow speed to get a vaccine appointment is frustrating but hang in there. We remain committed to breaking through any barriers to help support you in getting the vaccine.

The question often comes up about how we can get individual’s in services scheduled to receive their vaccine. At this time individual’s with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities do not have their own unique group on Colorado’s Phased distribution plan. Individual’s receiving services will be eligible for the vaccine based on the individual diagnosis and age. We are also not able to set up clinics to administer the vaccine to individual’s in services. As Colorado continues to increase vaccine supply and subsequent phases become eligible, we hope to see more vaccine options for all constituents of Support, Inc. We will continue to monitor these develops and ensure we provide updates on a regular basis.

Please reach out to your team or me with any questions or concerns.

Laura Viers,

Associate Director of Quality Assurance

Laura.Viers@supportinc.com