This Lubavitcher Doctor Has a Message About the COVID Vaccine

As a healthcare worker on the front lines, Dr. Shmulie Margolin was one of the first in the United States to receive the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine. He told Anash.org about his experience receiving the shot.

By Anash.org reporter

As the US begins its roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine, millions around the country are eagerly awaiting when they will have the opportunity to take the shot. One Lubavitcher doctor already got his vaccine, and he has a message to Anash.org readers.

Dr. Shmulie Margolin, a proud Lubavitcher living in Cleveland, serves as Associate Staff in the Department of Hospital Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as Associate Clinical Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.

As a healthcare worker on the front lines, Dr. Margolin was one of the first in the United States to receive the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine. He received his shot earlier this month, and upon receiving the pictures from his hospital’s PR department, he shared them with Anash.org.

“The first question many have about the vaccine, is if it is safe,” Dr. Margolin said. “The large scale animal and human trials done by Pfizer and Moderna demonstrate that their vaccines are both safe and effective.”

Dr. Margolin says that rather than relying on rumors and hyperbole, he actually listened to the meetings of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, of the FDA where they discussed approving the vaccine, and he strongly supports their decision to approve it.

“We are talking about the top infectious disease experts in the country,” he says. “These are not pharmaceutical companies pushing to make an extra buck.”

Dr. Margolin says that taking the shot itself does not involve any hardship or frightening procedures.

“This was probably one the least painful shots I got in my life, due to the small size of the needle,” he says. “The only thing I felt was a slight pain in my (non tfillin) arm for 24 hours, which is common for any shot.”

But Dr. Margolin is not satisfied with taking the shot himself. He wants everyone to get vaccinated at the first possible opportunity after discussion with their medical providers.

“We are not discussing some theoretical illness over here. Almost every Lubavitcher knows of a relative, friend or another chossid who passed away from the virus,” he says. “I personally lost my father-in-law and other relatives to COVID-19.”

“In light of the terrible destruction the virus has caused, it is only logical for everyone to do their utmost to get the vaccine after discussion with their doctor, and thereby preventing themselves from getting ill, and perhaps more importantly, stopping them from infecting others, chas v’shalom,” he says.