HJNO Mar/Apr 2021

36 MAR / APR 2021 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS LDH CORNER because we’ve been at far too high a base level of infections that continues to drive new community spread. Whether that will continue to happen will depend on recommitting to mitigation mea- sures like mask wearing and social distanc- ing. We will also need help in the expansive effort to get large numbers of Louisiana res- idents vaccinated. Only that will bring back the sense of normalcy we craved at the hol- idays — that warm embrace of the family we missed, the gatherings of friends at festivals and in backyards over big spreads of craw- fish and barbecue. To get back to that, and as we move into new priority groups, we’re going to have to ask more than just the healthcare sector to step up. This new immunization phase we’re times for Louisiana. We saw record infec- tions and huge numbers of hospitalizations and deaths. As that happened, healthcare workers once again sacrificed time with their fami- lies, struggled with the sheer exhaustion of working multiple long shifts in a row and grappled with maintaining their mental health. Perhaps the only respite for these workers was the arrival of vaccines in late December and the peace of mind that came with knowing they could now avoid a se- rious infection after completing their vac- cine series. February has brought some relief as we’ve seen COVID-19 case counts in Lou- isiana fall along with the rest of the coun- try. We need them to fall further, though, WE HAVE ASKED a lot of everyone in the health sector over the course of this pandemic. Since March 2020, it has been an espe- cially big ask of our frontline healthcare workers. As we began seeing community spread increase after Halloween celebra- tions and case growth explode over the holiday season, the pressure on our hos- pital workers grew. Halloween gatherings built a dangerous base of infections that would only get larger as families traveled and shared meals around the holidays, des- perate for a break and the brief feeling of normalcy and relief in seeing family mem- bers again. But those behaviors had consequenc- es, and December and January were dark COLUMN LDH CORNER ENDING THE PANDEMIC WITH THE COVID-19 VACCINE WILL MEAN WE ALL HAVE TO STEP UP