The first weekend of vaccinations for health workers and first aid in Tarrant County, the goal was to give 1,000 shots a day. But only about 700 people a day showed up.
The target may be optimistic, deployment is underway, and the holiday weekend may be partly to blame, but lower-than-expected turnout underscores what may be a reluctance on the part of some to get a vaccine. voluntary, considered by experts as necessary to end the pandemic.
At a makeshift vaccine clinic set up in a county building in South Fort Worth on Monday, Cmdr. Bryan Sudan, of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, was among those rolling up their sleeves.
“It’s a very easy decision,” he said. “Everyone has been moved by this and if you don’t have it, you will be.”
Sudan said its own brother is currently in hospital with COVID and that three of his co-workers in the sheriff’s office have died from the virus.
But for some, getting a shot is not such an easy decision.
Even in the medical field, some workers just don’t want it.
A survey conducted about a month ago of ambulance workers found that only 60 to 65 percent said they would get the vaccine, said Matt Zavadsky of Medstar.
Some worry that it was approved too quickly and may be dangerous or simply ineffective, Zavadsky said.
“The good news is that as vaccine education has improved, more people have indicated they want to get vaccinated,” he said. “It will never be 100%.”
Stephen Love, director of the North Texas Hospital Council, said he believes, based on his conversations with hospital executives, that about 70 percent of health workers plan for the vaccine.
But he said the percentage is much higher for doctors.
“99% of doctors want the vaccine,” Love said. So when you look at doctors, trained scientists who accept medical evidence, they are all getting the vaccine. You will always have some reluctant people. “
Meanwhile, patients with COVID continue to roll in North Texas hospitals at an alarming rate, and more so in Tarrant County than anywhere else in the region.
First-time attendees at Fort Worth handle an average of 117 COVID-19 calls each day.
Only patients who are more seriously ill are taken to the hospital.
“Things are adjusting,” Love said. “We’re very worried.”
And models predict that things will only get worse.
“And we haven’t even seen the Christmas rise,” Zavadsky added. “So we’re really worried about the next week or two for sure.”
Back at the vaccination clinic, there was hope that if there were enough people with the vaccine, the solution was in sight.
“You have to trust science and trust the science involved,” Sudan said.
* Map locations are approximate, central locations in the city and are not intended to indicate where infected people live.
** County totals below include the 32 counties in North Texas, not just Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant.
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