As the deployment of vaccines continues across the country, fitness is expanding to younger age groups and those with medical conditions, including a high body mass index (BMI).
However, on social media, many people who qualify based on BMI struggle with ‘vaccination debt’, and feel they are taking doses of the vaccine away from someone who is more ‘deserving’. After a viral Twitter thread highlighted the potential health risks of COVID-19 faced by people with obesity, many people made the discussion about it.
Infectious disease experts and registered dietitians agree that it is important for obese people to get the COVID-19 vaccine because they are eligible. TODAY Health also spoke to a clinical psychologist who gave advice on how to deal with feelings of ‘vaccination debt’.
Why are people with a high BMI considered a priority for COVID-19 vaccination?
Used to indicate a person’s weight and whether they are considered underweight, overweight or obese, with a high BMI, this does not necessarily mean that someone is at additional risk for COVID-19.
However, there are data indicating that overweight or obese people are at risk for severe cases of COVID-19.
“Many of the vaccinations for vaccination are aimed at people who are most at risk of getting complications if they become infected with COVID,” said Dr. Marybeth Sexton, an infectious disease expert, hospital epidemiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Emory University, said. Atlanta. ‘You are trying to protect the individual, who is in danger of being in the hospital or the intensive care unit or even dying, and you are also protecting the healthcare system … If you are the people who need to be in the hospital the most in the first place place to get sick, then you really help the stability of the hospital system. ‘
Dr. Gabrielle Page-Wilson, an endocrinologist and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, said people who are overweight or obese are prioritized in the same way as the elderly and other high-risk individuals, citing a recent study that showed people with obesity are twice as likely to be hospitalized and 48% more likely to die from coronavirus.
“What we do know is that obesity is associated with increased mortality and serious illnesses due to COVID-19,” Page-Wilson said. “When we say serious complications, we mean things like intubation, sepsis, we mean things like the need for kidney replacement therapy or to have kidney failure and to need hemodialysis. … (overweight or obese) is in itself a risk factor, and it really necessitates that these people have a high position on the fitness list. ‘
Kirstin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian and manager of health nutrition services at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, said that BMI is not always an exact tool as it is based solely on weight and height and does not distinguish between weight . it can be of muscle or fat. However, BMI is usually the most measurable weight, so Kirkpatrick said that is why it is used to be eligible for vaccine.
“BMI is the best assessment we can give at a nationwide level,” she said.
Page-Wilson said that because many studies have been calculated using BMI, people who are eligible for the vaccine because of their BMI should get it when they can.
“You may have a high BMI due to increased muscle mass, or you have a high BMI, but you do not have comorbidities, but just the fact that you have the BMI, you may be at a higher risk for COVID-19- ’cause related complications and mortality, and that makes you eligible,’ Page-Wilson said.
How can people handle ‘vaccination debt’?
Jessica Stern, a clinical psychologist at NYU Langone Health, said every person guilty of vaccination should remember that they are being vaccinated to make those around them safer.
“Remember that it is not necessarily your responsibility to decide whether you are eligible or whether you deserve the vaccine (if you fall into a suitable category),” Stern said. ‘… Responding to this is a joint team effort, and just as we need to work as a team to take safety measures, it is a joint effort to get the vaccine so that we can protect each other and protect ourselves. . someone gets the vaccine, it not only helps themselves, it also helps the community. ‘
For those who may be questioning or discussing their suitability on social media, Stern recommends acknowledging that the vitriol tends to come from a place of “fear and hopelessness and anxiety” while millions of people wait for the vaccine.
‘It’s absolutely not acceptable for someone to be a victim of it, but I think if someone receives it and gets a sense of judgment or hatred, it’s best (to say it easier than done) to remember it. “It’s not about them, it’s not personal,” Stern said. “If you receive the vaccine (if it is eligible) … remember that you are following the rules and guidelines and that someone’s frustration with you is not personal.”
The important thing is to remember that everyone needs to be vaccinated eventually.
“If you feel you are not sure whether to take the vaccine when you are offered it, just remember that you are using a valuable vaccine that would not otherwise be used,” Stern said. “You are actually doing a great service to everyone around you by making sure nothing goes to waste.”
