Dear Neighbor, 

I received the letter below from a constituent who is an Emergency Physician in a Madison hospital. For those of us (including myself) who have not had to care for someone with COVID, the incidents described by Dr. Zadra gives us a sense of the tragedy and frustration of treating people who are extremely sick from a disease that is largely preventable.

I assume Dr. Zadra was moved to write about his work because of the increasing surge of cases here and throughout the nation. I wanted to share it with you because we are all being asked to go back to the regimen of masking, distance etc.

Unlike the situation in 2020, we now have vaccines that block or greatly reduce the sickness from COVID. However, I learned today that the two neighborhoods in the city with the lowest vaccination rates are near Warner Park and along E. Wash near East Towne.

Vaccinations are available at the Public Health office on E. Wash near the library and Walgreens (which also has vaccinations). They are free, fast and effective.

Many thanks to Dr. Zadra for making the effort to reach out to all of us and encouraging us to “stay safe.”

-Samba Baldeh

As an Emergency Physician, I’ve taken care of hundreds of COVID patients alongside the APPs, nurses, techs, EMS, and many others on the front lines of this pandemic. I’ve witnessed patient’s suffering as they struggle to breathe, frustrated family members unable to be at bedside to comfort and achieve closure with a dying loved one, and brave colleagues risking their own health and teetering on the edge of burnout as they battle this terrible disease day in and day out.  

As COVID cases spike once again, a new frustration has been added to the list – that much of this suffering is preventable with the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. Every patient I’ve diagnosed with COVID over the past 6 weeks has been unvaccinated. I distinctly remember one patient asking through labored breathing for a vaccination just before we needed to insert a breathing tube and place him on a ventilator. Please get vaccinated before it is too late.

The vaccine hesitancy I’ve encountered seems to be due to both widespread disinformation and historical distrust of the healthcare establishment. It is crucial that unvaccinated citizens of Wisconsin discuss concerns with their doctor or another trusted and credible healthcare professional in order to ensure dissemination of accurate information. I encourage everyone to continue to adhere to the distancing, masking, and basic hygiene recommendations set by the CDC, but make no mistake - immunizing the population is the quickest route back to the normalcy we all seek. Please get your COVID vaccination and encourage your friends and loved ones to do the same.

Sincerely,

Jake Zadra, MD

Emergency Physician

Madison, WI