Nurses Exemplify Pandemic Response and Preparedness Report

February 11, 2021 by Alec Stone MA, MPA, Former ONS Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy

A nurse was the first U.S. citizen (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/nyregion/us-covid-vaccine-first-sandra-lindsay.html) to receive the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine. Biden also recently appointed (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/biden-appoints-nurse-to-covid-19-advisory-board) a nurse to the COVID-19 advisory board. Clearly the country recognizes nurses’ consistent power and trustworthiness (https://voice.ons.org/news-and-views/nurses-break-record-as-most-trusted-profession-for-19-years-running), and nurses can use that power to educate the public about the Biden administration’s tactics (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/National-Strategy-for-the-COVID-19-Response-and-Pandemic-Preparedness.pdf) to get vaccines to the rest of the country and control the spread.

The National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness Report provides strategies (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/National-Strategy-for-the-COVID-19-Response-and-Pandemic-Preparedness.pdf) to alter Americans’ attitudes and behavior about vaccination and reverse the spike in diagnoses and deaths:

Because they’re ranked the most trustworthy (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/the-public-trusts-nurses-voices-during-health-emergencies) profession in the United States, patients with cancer listen to their nurses. Help them understand the facts about COVID-19 vaccination a (https://voice.ons.org/news-and-views/should-patients-with-cancer-receive-covid-19-vaccines-heres-what-oncology-nurses)nd when it’s right for them.


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