The Executive Suite: Share COVID-19 vaccine updates with patients using HIPAA-compliant email

In 2020, scientists embarked on a race to produce safe and effective coronavirus vaccines in record time. As of this writing, nine vaccines have been authorized in some countries, including two in the United States. There are at least 58 more in development.

Although the vaccines will not get us to a point of elimination, COVID-19 will stop being as worrisome once much of the public is vaccinated because the virus will no longer affect populations en masse and threaten the treatment capacity of hospitals.

HIPAA compliant email is a great way to keep your patients informed. In the US alone, over 240 million people use email and over 70% of surveyed millenials prefer to interact with businesses via email.

The faster people are informed, the faster they will get vaccinated, and the faster we can get back to normal.

Below are some examples of the type of information you can share with your patients.

Who can get vaccine

As of this writing, 1.6 million people in the US are being vaccinated every day, and 46 million doses in total have been administered.

President Biden promises to accelerate the pace of vaccinations by encouraging states to expand access to essential workers and people over the age of 65.

States are still setting their own guidelines however about who can receive a shot. You can share with your patients the current eligibility requirements for your state, found on the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine information page.

Where to get a vaccine

According to Biden’s plan, the Federal Government will create community vaccination centers in places like stadiums and conference centers. For example, Massachusetts is using Gillette Stadium, and Levi's Stadium will soon be transformed into California's largest vaccination site.

Pharmacies will also be in the mix. The CDC has already partnered with CVS and Walgreens to offer on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Eventually physician offices, urgent care centers, and hospitals will also be able to administer the vaccine. If your healthcare facility becomes a vaccination center, HIPAA compliant email marketing is an easy and efficient way to let your patients know when they can start scheduling appointments.

Vaccine side effects

You might want to warn your patients about potential vaccine side effects so they are not concerned if it happens. People may have arm pain or feel flu-ish after getting a shot. While temporarily unpleasant, these are signs the vaccines are actually activating an immune response.

There have also been reports of anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, after administration of both the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. Anaphylaxis must be quickly treated with epinephrine, the drug in EpiPens. The latest CDC data reports that these allergic reactions occur at a rate of 11.1 cases per million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. 71% of those reports occurred within 15 minutes of vaccination.

Vaccine benefits

Besides keeping you from contracting COVID-19, the CDC reports that a vaccine may help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do contract the disease.

The CDC will continue to update its website as more data becomes available. Send email updates to your patients when there is new information to share.

The continued importance of wearing masks and social distancing

Until we substantially reduce community transmission of the coronavirus and see hospitalizations and deaths dramatically decrease, we still need to wear masks and practice social distancing even after vaccination.

No vaccine is 100% effective, and we still do not know if someone who was vaccinated can develop asymptomaticinfection and transmit the virus. This is likely but not yet fully studied.

HIPAA compliant email is a great way for healthcare professionals to communicate effectively with their patients about the current status of the COVID-19 vaccines. As an authoritative source, you can assuage fears about vaccine side effects and share the benefits of getting one.

Let people know that the approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe, and after vaccination people are protected from severe disease, hospitalization, and death.

You also want to let patients know if and where the vaccine is in stock, and how to make an appointment.