Nurses have whiplash after they are face scrutiny from their families and employers for refusing the vaccine just months after they were showered with praise for risking their health while working through the COVID-19 pandemic.
'A year ago I was a hero, and now I'm being treated like scum,' said Becca Pitt, a 21-year-old nursing assistant in Indiana who intends to fall pregnant within three years and holds fears about the vaccine's potential effects on her fertility - 'we don't know the side effects.'
She and two other nurses, one who questions the speed at which the vaccine was produced and another who worries that the jab will affect the quality of her breastmilk, spoke frankly with Suzy Weiss about their recasting as villains since the vaccine became available.
All of them recalled falling ill with COVID during a period where most were quarantining at home while they were deemed 'essential,' and some pointed out the 'absurdity' of being forced to vaccinate when natural immunity is 27 times more effective than vaccinated immunity in preventing COVID infection, according to the largest COVID study worldwide, conducted in Israel and detailed by the Wall Street Journal.
Pitts told Weiss she often worked grueling 60-hour weeks of 12 and even 16 hour shifts in nursing homes and hospital wards in 2020, helping patients bathe and eat while wearing the same surgical mask for up to a week due to shortages and sometimes without a surgical gown.
As the pandemic unfolded, Pitts said 'you would have no idea what you were walking into' coming in to work each day.
'A year ago I was a hero, and now I'm being treated like scum,' said Becca Pitt (pictured), a 21-year-old nursing assistant in Indiana who intends to fall pregnant within three years and holds fears about the vaccine's potential effects on her fertility - 'we don't know the side effects.'
When maternity nurse Jennifer Peters, 39, took to Instagram, posting a solemn photo of her discarded work shoes and hospital badge as a tribute to the times (pictured), her post nearly accrued a million likes within a week
A man is pictured holding a sign as East Bay first responders drive by during a procession to show support and appreciation of health care workers at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, California last May. Pitts recalled that local residents would hang signs and cheer when she and coworkers left the hospital for the day - now, she said, she is 'treated like scum' for her choice to remain unvaccinated
'For over 5 years I’ve advocated for patients for bodily autonomy, respecting their medical choices even if I may have disagreed with them,' wrote San Diego-based nurse Garen Pido (pictured) on her social media accounts. 'Today I was told I would no longer be able to sit inside to eat or drink while working my shift'
Through it all, frontline workers were hailed as heroes.
The medical facilities where she worked were plastered with signs that were emblazoned with thankful messages like 'heroes work here.'
Becca Pitts (pictured) said she often worked grueling 60-hour weeks of 12 and even 16 hour shifts in nursing homes and hospital wards in 2020, helping patients bathe and eat while wearing the same surgical mask for up to a week due to shortages and sometimes without a surgical gown
One of them held raffles for expensive electronics, while others handed out goodie bags and cash prizes to staff, and local residents often clapped and cheered when she and her coworkers left the hospital for the day - just for showing up amid a global health crisis.
'Our administrators threw us pizza parties and doughnut parties constantly,' she said.
When she was exhausted by the excruciating shifts and the fear of the virus we didn't fully understand, her family doled out praise and filled out thank you cards.
Now that she and her six-year-old sister are the only members of her family that remain unvaccinated, she is a pariah.
San Diego-based maternity nurse Jen Peters, 39, resigned from her position at Scripps hospital four weeks ago after the California Department of Public Health mandated the vaccine for healthcare workers in August.
Peters, who gave birth to a baby girl five months ago, fears that the jab may affect the quality of her breast milk and doesn't want to take any chances. She applied for an exemption to the mandate, but her request was denied.
Jennifer Peters (pictured), a nurse and lactation consultant who gave birth to a baby girl five months ago, fears that the jab may affect the quality of her breast milk and doesn't want to take any chances. She applied for an exemption to the mandate, but her request was
