By Francesca D’Ovidio

What is your name, age, and where do you live?

Rachel is 34 years old. She was born and raised in Hawaii. She graduated from University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2009 and because of the competitive market, had difficulty finding a job right away. Rachel traveled to Washington DC before settling in New York City, where she has lived for the past 10 years. 

What is your job?

Rachel is a bartender in New York City, living off of $35,000 a year. However, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, she was unemployed for five months. Currently, there is no steady work for her because of the instability in maintaining restaurants and bars open with the high number of Coronavirus cases.

What do you enjoy (hobbies)?

Rachel is an outdoorsy person; she enjoys hiking and running half marathons.

When were you first introduced to the Breast Treatment Task Force?

After finding a lump in her breast that had doubled in size over the course of three months, Rachel booked a sonogram and a mammogram. However, upon arrival she discovered that her copay was $8,000, leaving her no choice but to leave the facility without treatment. Rachel is at high risk for cancer, her mother passed away at the age of 55 from aggressive breast cancer. Because of her family history, receiving basic preventative care was even more important for Rachel and her health. Rachel’s father then started doing research online for programs that help women with similar jobs and incomes as her and found the Breast Treatment Task Force. 

What procedures did you receive? At what facilities(s)?

Through BTTF, Rachel was able to do a sonogram, baseline mammogram, and a sonogram guided biopsy at Lenox Hill radiology. 

How did it feel knowing your services would be covered?

Rachel recalls feeling as though she had won the lottery. Being able to receive preventative care without any financial burden felt like a weight off of her shoulders. If it was not for the BTTF team, Rachel admits she probably would have risked it and not have gotten the preventative treatment, potentially putting her life in danger.

How did the BTTF team support you?

“They were amazing”, Rachel remarks; all of the appointments were scheduled by the BTTF, making the experience as stress free as possible. She refers to Janice Zaballero, the executive director, as her “guardian angel” through the whole process, being by her side every step of the way.

What do you wish more people knew about getting diagnostic care without insurance?

Rachel wishes more people knew about the variety of healthcare programs tailored to different people’s circumstances. 

How has access to breast care made a difference in your life?

Aside from the financial relief and reassurance of her health, receiving breast treatment gave Rachel hope. Researching all of the breast treatment programs made her optimistic for women in the future. Knowing that there are organizations who are fighting to help those who are ignored by the American healthcare system made Rachel want to be a part of the fight as well.

By: Francesca D’Ovidio

As we are approaching our one year mark living in a COVID infected world, we are finally seeing advances in combating the COVID-19 crisis with the first vaccines being recently approved by the FDA this December. In the United States, there are currently two FDA approved vaccines being distributed: the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. 

How Do The Two Vaccines Work?

1. The Pfizer vaccine injects mRNA, a type of genetic material that instructs cells to make proteins, into our cells, causing them to produce spike proteins. This protein migrates to the surface of a cell where the cell identifies it as foreign, allowing the cell to prepare its immune response for the coronavirus without triggering the disease. The cell then increases the production of antibodies against the spike protein as a response to the unexpected protein. In this way, if one becomes infected with the coronavirus, the accumulation of antibodies already in their body will protect them from contracting the disease. 

2. The Moderna vaccine functions very similarly to the pfizer vaccine, it too alters the genetic material in the cell to produce an immune response. However, one distinct difference between the two vaccines is the type of mRNA molecules in them. As a result, the two vaccines have different lipid delivery systems. Hence, the Moderna vaccine is able to be transported at a variety of temperatures, while the Pfizer vaccine must be kept in very cold temperatures. 

Who Gets the Vaccine First?

The distribution of the vaccine is divided into three phases, each in order of priority. The first phase, between December and February, is prioritized for healthcare workers and long term care facilities, including essential workers such as firefighters and transportation workers who are highly exposed to the virus. The majority of high risk individuals in this phase will be receiving the vaccine via their workplace or facility. Subsequently, during the second phase, beginning in February and ending in March, individuals with co-morbid conditions, adults over 65, and other workers like teachers and restaurant staff will be vaccinated. Finally, the third phase, which begins in April, will initiate the vaccination of the general public. It is anticipated that by summer of 2021, the vaccine will be accessible to anyone who wants it. 

How Long Does It Take For the Vaccine to be Effective?

Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are two-dose vaccines, meaning that the vaccine recipients will need a second booster shot a few weeks after the first shot. The first shot prompts one’s body to become immune to the virus and the second shot strengthens that immunity. The second shot increases the effectiveness of the vaccine by 43% (according to studies on the Pfizer vaccine). Consequently, one can still contract the virus and spread it during the three to four week waiting period between the two doses. Once the second dose of the vaccine is administered, it can take around two weeks for the efficacy to reach 95%. This means that the process from start to finish can take about four to six weeks, if not more at times. 

Beyond the two FDA approved vaccines, there are currently three other vaccines being tested in phase 3 clinical trials, the final stage prior approval. In this phase of testing the prospective vaccines are administered to thousands of people to see the large scale efficacy of the vaccine. If approved, it is probable that a larger variety of vaccines will become accessible to the public in the coming months, increasing the number of people getting vaccinated, and therefore decreasing COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States. 

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine.html 

https://theconversation.com/how-mrna-vaccines-from-pfizer-and-moderna-work-why-theyre-a-breakthrough-and-why-they-need-to-be-kept-so-cold-150238 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/17/health/moderna-vaccine-what-we-know/index.html 

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/when-can-i-get-the-covid-19-vaccine 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-long-before-coronavirus-vaccine-works_l_5fd6c66fc5b6218b42ea3760