Jacksonville-area physicians field questions about COVID vaccines

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Doctors on Monday night took time to answer the questions of News4Jax viewers and address any concerns they might have had about getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

“The most common questions we’re getting tonight, our No. 1: Are you still protected against the delta variant if you’ve been vaccinated?” said Dr. Andrew Martin. “And the answer to that seems to be yes. Protection seems to be a little less than it was against other variants, still highly protected.”

In some instances, the vaccine doesn’t prevent infection, but doctors believe it presents the severity of cases leading to hospital stays or death.

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Jennifer Hartley said she and her husband are both vaccinated, but both got sick and went to their doctor.

“I told them I was fully vaccinated. So they said, ‘We’re gonna do a COVID test anyway.’ And I was really shocked when the doctor came in and said I had tested positive,” Hartley said.

Hartley said she is glad she got vaccinated.

Two of the doctors that took calls from viewers Monday night said many can related to their concerns. They have children who are heading back to the classroom.

“I’m a medical professional and also a mom,” said Dr. Kathleen Dumitru, an emergency medical specialist. “I’m sending my children back to school a little bit reluctantly but they’ve got to be there. They’ve got to get back to school, they’ve got to learn. And it does concern me.”

“This is just the hardest decision making I think as a parent that I’ve ever had to do,” said Dr. Jennifer Cowart, an internal medicine specialist. “Trying to balance the mental health and and learning aspect versus going to school at the height of this surge with more kids in the hospital than we’ve ever seen.”


About the Author:

Kent Justice co-anchors News4Jax's 5 p.m., 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts weeknights and reports on government and politics. He also hosts "This Week in Jacksonville," Channel 4's hot topics and politics public affairs show each Sunday morning at 9 a.m.