SDDSNY Bulletin January February 2021

Dr. Vito Cardo, Jr: A Remembrance by Sheeba Kurian, D.D.S. Shocking is not the word. It feels very unreal and numb. In my eyes, Dr. Vito Cardo, Jr. was a very strong man on the outside but a teddy bear at heart. He was an amazing oral surgeon, a great leader, and a very kind and loving man with a giving heart. I have seen his generosity in action many times. He saw the potential in peo- ple, mentored, and invested in them. I am one such recipient and am ever grateful for that. I am honored to have been men- tored by him. He encouraged me a lot dur- ing my low tides (professional and personal). He was my work dad, so you can imagine the arguments! His anger was ultra- short-lived. I am going to miss him a lot. I have no one to butt heads with. I am going to miss the tense, yet funny conversa- tions during our department meetings. I am glad that, as a depart- ment, we were able to celebrate his 50 years of being an oral sur- geon. After his 80th birthday, he was so overjoyed that he received so many well wishes from many of his old students and friends. I told him, “Enjoy it, for you are loved.” Even when he was weak, he was trying to help someone else’s child and he even sent prayers my way when I had a loss in my family. We would like to extend our love and condolences to Dr. Cardo, Jr.’s entire family. I had the privilege of meeting some of them. He cherished his family and was always very proud of his wife, children, and grandchil- dren, and always spoke very highly about them. They are a loving and kind family. I know that it’s a tough time for all of us but I know we will get through this with God by our side and by supporting each other. Dr. Sheeba Kurian is the director of the advanced education program in pedi- atric dentistry in the department of dental medicine and oral-maxillofacial surgery at Brookdale Hospital and Medical Center. the absurd conspiracy theories of Bill Gates using the vaccine to implant microchips into the unsus- pecting population tomonitor and track them, and other theories espousing the pandemic was devel- oped for population control and spread by 5G mobile telephone towers. Another apprehension I have heard conveyed is that if some- thing goes wrong and the vaccine harms you, you cannot sue the pharmaceutical companies. Even my wife has askedme tomake sure my life insurance policy is up to date should I be one of the first to take the vaccine! The government does have a specific program called the Countermeasures Injury Com- pensation Program (CICP) run by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is part of the Department of Health andHuman Services, that will com- pensate you or your family in the very rare instance something untoward occurs from the vaccine. As caring health care profession- als, we need to be proactive in edu- cating our patients and staff on the safety of the vaccines. And the most amazing news is the vaccines will be entirely free. The CDC’s FAQs state that, “Vaccine doses purchased with U.S. taxpayer dol- lars will be given to the American people at no cost. However, vac- cination providers will be able to charge an administration fee for giving the shot to someone.” This administration charge can be reim- bursed by either the patient’s insur- ance company or, for people without insurance, by the HRSA Provider Relief Fund. InNewYork State’s Covid-19 Vaccination Pro- gram, dentists are even authorized to administer the vaccine. 5 This was supported and championed by the ADA for all dentists. 6 Further- more, in a recent study in the jour- nal Vaccine, 7 most parents were comfortable with dentists admin- istering vaccines to their children. Many people I have spoken to about early vaccination seem to have a wait and see approach— they want to wait about a month or so to see how the vaccines are working on people they know or reports from news sources they trust. Educating our network of family, friends, employees and patients on the safety of vaccina- tion could lead to increased early mass vaccination and help quickly turn the tide, bringing us a happy and healthy New Year. So please advocate to vaccinate! References 1. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ daily-life-coping/holidays.html 2. https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/explaining- operation-warp-speed/index.html 3. https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/ press-release-detail/ pfizer-and-biontech-conclude-phase-3-study-covid- 19-vaccine 4. https://www.statnews.com/2020/07/14/ moderna-covid19-vaccine-first-data-show-spurs- immune-response/ 5. https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/ files/atoms/files/NYS_COVID_Vaccination_ Program_Book_10.16.20_FINAL.pdf 6. https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ ada-news/2020-archive/october/ ada-supports-efforts-allowing-dentists-to-administer- vaccines 7. Dean TC, Gilliland AE, Cameron JE. Parents' receptiveness to oral health clinic-based vaccination. Vaccine. 2020 Jun 2;38(27):4226-422. He was an amazing oral surgeon, a great leader and a very kind and loving man with a giving heart. Have a Healthy and Normal New Year 2021! Continued from Page 7 » WWW.SDDSNY.ORG 9