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Nurses and Healthcare Workers Support Gov. Evers’ Vaccine Incentive

August 26, 2021

Nurses and healthcare workers throughout Wisconsin applaud Governor Tony Evers’ leadership on COVID safety, and strongly support his vaccine incentive plan to protect our patients, our families, our coworkers and our communities!

If you’re unvaccinated and get your first shot before Labor Day, Sept. 6, you can claim your $100 gift card at 100.wisconsin.gov.

As medical professionals who have dedicated our lives to keeping our patients safe and healthy, we’re urging everyone to get vaccinated right away. We feel so passionately about this issue because we’ve been on the front lines of this pandemic, and have been witnessing firsthand the devastating impact COVID has taken on our patients.

More than 718,000 Wisconsinites have been infected and 8,300 have been killed by COVID. 630,000 total Americans have died from the virus, which is more than World War II and the wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Currently, over 99% of COVID deaths and 97% of hospitalizations are happening to unvaccinated people.

Now, the new, more dangerous Delta variant is sending even young, healthy people--including children--to our hospital intensive care units. Not only can COVID cause severe illness and death, it can also lead to long term health effects that include damage to the heart, brain and lungs; severe fatigue; and debilitating joint pain.

The vaccine is extremely safe--it has been thoroughly studied by medical experts, and over 190 million Americans have now had at least one dose. The Pfizer vaccine has received full FDA approval, and full approvals for other vaccines are expected soon. Most importantly, the vaccines are up to 95% effective at preventing symptomatic disease from COVID.

We’re all in this together. Each and every one of us needs to do our part to defeat COVID, and keep our state and our country strong. So to all Wisconsinites, from those of us on the front lines, please get vaccinated TODAY.

-Pat Raes, Registered Nurse, on behalf of SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin

32 years of service

UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital