Despite being prioritized as the first recipients of the coronavirus vaccine, a large number of health and front-line workers transmit it. Early reports across the country show that front-line health and safety workers are rejecting the COVID-19 vaccine.
In Ohio, 60% of nursing home employees decided not to get the coronavirus vaccine. Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) reacted to the low turnout figures by saying, “We won’t do them, but we’d like them to comply more.” He added that he was “concerned” by the number of nursing home workers who rejected the vaccine.
DeWine warned frontline workers that they would soon no longer be in front of the line, “Today our message is: the train may not return for a while. We will finally make it available to everyone, but this is the opportunity to to you, and you really should think about getting it. ”
Dr. Joseph Varon, chief of staff at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, is frustrated that more than half of the nurses in his unit refuse to receive the vaccine.
“Yesterday I had a fight, not a fight, but I had a friendly discussion with over 50% of my nurses in my unit who told me they wouldn’t get the vaccine,” he said.
“Morning Edition” by NPR.
“Some of these nurses have had family members admitted to the hospital, seriously ill with COVID-19,” NPR reported. “But he said some nurses and hospital staff members (many of whom are Latinx or Black) are skeptical and will work and are concerned about unfounded side effects.”
In California, it is estimated that 50% of Riverside County front-line workers rejected the COVID-19 vaccine, public health director Kim Saruwatari told the Los Angeles Times.
“At St. Elizabeth’s Community Hospital in Tehama County, less than half of the 700 hospital workers eligible for the vaccine were willing to fire when it was first offered. At Providence Holy Cross Medical Center of Mission Hills, one in five front-line nurses and doctors have fired the shot, “the LA Times reported. “Approximately 20% to 40% of Los Angeles County front-line workers who received the vaccine did the same, according to county public health officials.”
Dr. Nikhila Juvvadi, head of clinic at Chicago’s Loretto Hospital, surveyed hospital staff just before the coronavirus vaccine came out and 40% of employees said they would not be vaccinated, according to NPR.
According to WNBC-TV, in a survey in early December among members of the New York Fire Department, approximately 55% of uniformed firefighters said they would choose not to receive the shot.
A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation published Dec. 15 found that 29% of those who work at a health care delivery center probably would not get or definitely would not get the vaccine. The survey also showed that 33% of essential workers would approve. Overall, 27% of Americans “hesitate.”
There is a strong division among Americans who are willing to get vaccinated based on their political affiliation. According to the poll, 86% of Democrats say they will definitely or probably get the coronavirus vaccine, compared to 56% of Republicans who said the same thing.
According to the KFF, the main concerns for being reluctant to take the coronavirus vaccine are:
- Possible side effects (59%)
- Lack of confidence in the government to ensure the safety and effectiveness of vaccines (55%)
- Worried that the vaccine is too new (53%)
- Concerns about the role of politics in the development process (51%)
Sheena Bumpas, a certified nursing assistant at an Oklahoma home, told the New York Times she was reluctant to take the COVID-19 vaccine because “I don’t want to be a guinea pig.”
April Lu, a 31-year-old nurse at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in California, refused to take the vaccine because she worries it may not be safe for pregnant women and is six months pregnant.
“I’m choosing the risk: the risk of having COVID or the risk of the vaccine unknown,” Lu told the Los Angeles Times. “I think I’m choosing the risk of COVID. I can control it and prevent it a bit by wearing masks, though not 100% safe.”
Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci noted that coronavirus vaccines may be mandatory in order to attend school or travel internationally.