Page 33 - Healthcare News Nov_Dec, 2020

NOV./DEC. 2020 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM 33
Vaccine
Continued from page 7
licensure, but allows the immediate use of the vaccine pending more information that leads to licensure down the road — because we’re
in a pandemic,” he noted, adding that he’s optimistic about further testing, as trials so far have shown about 95% effectiveness across all age groups, with no serious adverse effects.
“The data I’ve seen is pretty impressive for efficacy and safety of the vaccine. And there were around 40,000 people in the trial, so that’s a good sample,” he said — enough to start delivering some immunity to high-risk populations now.
The question, especially as distri- bution widens in the spring, is how many Americans will actually take the vaccine. Collins said the Public Health Institute has conducted preliminary outreach and found some skepticism and mistrust of the government when it comes to vac- cine advice, especially in communi- ties of color.
Skin
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tize,” Brunton-Auger added. “Back- to-back isn’t what it used to be.”
As for other COVID-related changes, staff wear masks, aprons, goggles, and — except in the case of massage — gloves, all of which are changed out between appoint- ments.
The pandemic led to other pivots as well, including a switch to mak- ing hand sanitizer in the lab back in the spring. It was hard to find materials and containers at times, Sedlak said, but a small salon like SkinCatering was able to make the production switch more quickly than a large company could. In the meantime, even when the shop was shut down, product orders soared, as people still wanted to treat them- selves.
“We had more skin-care orders in the first two weeks of the shutdown than we ever had in the pre-COVID days,” Brunton-Auger said. “It saved the business in some ways.”
Moving On Down
She and Sedlak both expect the move downstairs to boost their business further, especially after the pandemic is in the rear-view mir-
“In order to counteract that, we have been trying to find and lift up messengers in the community who are trusted people, whether faith- based leaders or other trusted mes- sengers, to counteract skepticism and fear about getting vaccines, whether the flu vaccine or the COVID-19 vaccine,” Collins told HCN, adding that the institute held a virtual town-hall event two days before Thanksgiving and asked 10 such messengers to share their wis- dom on prevention measures.
Artenstein breaks down vaccine attitudes into three distinct groups of people — two of which are those champing at the bit for a vaccine, and a small but robust community of anti-vaxxers who express skepti- cism at vaccines in general.
“Then there’s a whole middle group who could be convinced to get the vaccine, but they’re con- cerned about safety and effective- ness,” he explained. “It’s a risk-ben- efit calculation, and based on what I know about vaccines, the risk seems low, and the risk of COVID seems pretty high, especially right now, with such high rates in the
ror, whenever that might be. For one thing, they
can stay open seven days a week; because the upstairs space was tucked amid of- fices, the floor essentially shut down on the week- ends, and they would have to call to security to turn on the lights every Satur- day; they kept it closed on Sundays.
Now, with a shop right next to the hotel entrance that draws more foot traf- fic, SkinCatering will be open seven days a week.
“We have been work-
ing on this project for
almost two years, so to
see it finally realized and
ready to open is a great
feeling of accomplish-
ment, especially in the middle of
a pandemic,” Sedlak said. “Tower Square has a history of being a
hub of activity for Springfield, and we’re very excited to be a major part of why people are coming back into the city.”
And perhaps, eventually, not just the city, as the partners have ex- plored the possibility of franchising their model.
“It’s a duplicatable system that works,” Sedlak said, especially in conjunction with hotels. “It’s an
community.
Hampden County, in fact, cur-
rently ranks third among Massa- chusetts counties for transmission rate, with more than 50 positive cases per 100,000 residents.
Typically, around 70% of people in a community — or a nation — need to be exposed, either through natural infection or a vaccine, to reach the desired herd immunity, he added. “In the U.S., that’s a
big number. But the risk-benefit calculation is obvious. You’d like, over time, to have enough people willing to get the vaccine to help the general population.”
Anticipation and Reality
While surveys currently suggest about 60% of Americans are willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine, that number could rise higher if early results from the priority groups demonstrate both effectiveness and safety.
“The U.K. is going first, and then U.S. healthcare workers have to
go — which is obviously the right thing to do — then people over 65,” Collins noted. “It’s not like the
general public is being made guinea pigs. We will actually be able to see a lot of people getting the vaccine, and the companies will see the reactions.
“So, messaging is critical, and the messengers are critical,” she added. “Hopefully, we’ll have good results, and more people will be willing to take it.”
Artenstein agreed, adding that, for the group of Americans ready to line up right now, the wait may be longer than they realize, but that’s OK.
“We’re a little over our skis on this,” he said. “There’s a lot of excitement and anticipation, but it’s going to come out as more of a slow roll; there’s a manufacturing process, an approval process, and a safety process. There won’t be 300 million doses available tomorrow, and that’s hard for some folks.
“There’s going to be a lot of inter- est, questions, and anxiety, and rightly so,” he added. “We’re living in a very different time, and people want to move very fast. But we have to make sure we do things in the safest possible way.” v
The new hair stations at SkinCatering have long been a goal for Kim Brunton- Auger.
amenity for the hotel and the rest of this tower. It’s convenient, but I don’t want to be known as a conve- nience spa. I mean, I want it to be convenient, but when you come in, you also have an incredible luxury experience.
“And I don’t mean luxury like stuffy,” she was quick to add. “We want you to be relaxed. It’s the idea of lush, but you feel so comfortable
here, you want to stay for a long time. The theme is an urban oasis. Modern, clean, funky, cool, but comfortable.”
While expanding a business during a pandemic may not be the most comfortable move for a small business, so far, Sedlak and Brunton-Auger are proving it’s the right one. v