Julio César Sánchez Robledo is a resident anesthesiology physician at Hospital Juárez de México. Since March 2020, on the front line of battle, it helps in the intubation of Covid-19 patients. On December 30, he received the vaccine from Pfizer, and considered that it is not a privilege for doctors, but a responsibility to continue to lead the fight against the new coronavirus.
“It is not an absolute immunity, and we must still take care of the population that has not yet been vaccinated,” he mentioned. By telephone, Sánchez Robledo told El Economista that “when we entered the pandemic we stopped doing activities typical of our specialty, because before being specialists we are doctors, and we have the commitment to attend to an emergency.
“We are not specialist doctors in Covid, but there are many things we can help with, such as intubation, the management of mechanical ventilation and support patients, because specialist doctors are not enough. For example, the anesthesia team was included in the teams in Mexico and internationally, along with intensive care, emergencies and internal medicine ”, he explained.
This is how vaccination lived
“We were summoned to Military Camp 1, and the attention was very good. They have it well organized. They have staff from the entrance that guides you. There is a specific line for the Hospital Juárez. There is a first filter where they check the identification of the hospital and then they check the lists to confirm that you are cited that day.
“Later, you are asked to fill out some forms that are given to you with the CURP, address, telephone, mail and if you have a history of having had Covid, on what date, and if you were vaccinated against influenza, measles and other vaccines this year. Then they pass you to a tent where they show a video about the explanation of the vaccine, and they go back to check that your data is correct, and they explain to you about the effects that can be presented by the vaccine, and how long the second dose corresponds to you .
“They also see that a voucher is correctly filled out that they give you where they place the batch from which the vaccine and the laboratory originate, because the same laboratory must correspond to the second dose and the date that is my turn, which is January 20 . After that you go to the vaccination certificates where there are two people from the Army; one reviews your documentation and captures your data on a computer and the other sets the dose for you.
“You are given another explanation about the possible effects, and they ask you not to manipulate the area where the vaccine was placed. After that they pass you to an observation area for 20 minutes where they see that you do not present adverse effects. Then you can retire ”.
The doctor stressed that the Pfizer vaccine, as well as those that are in the approval process, do not prevent the disease, but only that in case of contagion the patient does not become serious or require hospitalization.
“You cannot avoid the disease completely. The main function of vaccines, like the influenza vaccine, is that if you face the virus and become infected, you do not generate a major illness, you do not have to be hospitalized. “(The vaccinated doctors) must still take care of the population that has not yet been vaccinated, and also ourselves because we do not have much information after the vaccine, and neither in the Mexican population. So, take care of yourself all the time until this is controlled much more, until a large part of the population has been vaccinated and we see it reflected in the (low) hospitalizations ”, he mentioned.
Do you mean that it is not a privilege, but a responsibility, to be the first to receive the vaccine?
“It is a commitment, because from the moment you decide to vaccinate first the health personnel who are in charge of the Covid, you have the commitment, first, to set an example for the population; second, keep taking care of yourself ”.
