The FAA’s recent decision allowing pilots to be vaccinated against COVID-19 without risk to their medical certificates comes as welcome news, but many people still have questions.
To answer some of those questions, the National Business Aviation Association is hosting a webinar Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, at 11 a.m. Eastern time.
The webinar will “look behind the news, to explain what the approval means for our industry, how the vaccine works and what to expect, while also covering live audience Q&A,” NBAA officials say.
The webinar is open and free to all. You can register for it here.
Can’t attend this live webinar? Register anyway and you will have access to the recording the day after it airs.
I was recently involved in a automobile accident which as a result I have a fractured neck. I visited my AME and we were discussing my situation, one of the questions he ask me go me to thinking. He ask if I lost contentiousness during the accident or afterward, my answer was no. I ask him why this mattered so much, and he said it is immediate grounds for disqualification for a medical certificate. So the discussion then turned to the COVID vaccine, and its approval for use by pilots without fear of suspension or loss of their medical certificate. Having discussed this with my wife, I found out that most of the doctors have refused to take the vaccine, however nurses and other healthcare workers at her hospital have been pressured to take it. Some have experienced headaches, fever, nausea and dizziness, in some cases they have even fainted or lost contentiousness. Upon hearing this my AME stated that if this happens you would be required to self report and your medical would be suspended until you could prove the cause and the likelihood of a reoccurrence.
If you have any knowledge or information on this subject, I believe it would be a really important thing for pilots to know. This would allow them to access the risk for themselves and make a educated decision.
From the CDC website…
Fainting can be triggered by many types of medical procedures. In fact, CDC has received reports of people fainting after nearly all vaccines. Fainting after getting a vaccine is most commonly reported after three vaccines given to adolescents: HPV, MCV4, and Tdap. Because the ingredients of these three vaccines are different, yet fainting is seen with all of them, scientists think that fainting is due to the vaccination process and not to the vaccines themselves.
In other words, it’s not the vaccine that’s triggering fainting. It’s the act of getting a shot. If you’ve had shots in the past and never fainted from one, you’re not likely to faint from the Covid vaccine shot.
There are some healthcare workers who are nervous about getting the vaccine. But remember that the Phase 3 trials of the vaccines involved over 40,000 people. While it’s still possible that there is some small subset of people who may have adverse reactions to the vaccine, it’s also true that your risk from the virus itself is likely much higher. There is perceived risk, and then there is real risk. The two are often not the same.
Yeah not talking about normal vaccines. This vaccine has been suspended for use with individuals who have any history of allergic reaction. My wife is an NNP, and several of the staff who have had no previous allergy issues had fainting spells. The information you posted came from the CDC (government), as an Aviation professional who engages with the FAA frequently, I think I’ll adhear to what Ronald Reagan said. The nine most dangerous words in the English language are, we’re from the government, and we’re here to help!
All joking aside I would never take a vaccine that was completely untested under normal conditions and has had this kind of result so quickly. As a health person, I’m certainly not willing to risk my medical certificate for something with this kind of history.