- A large number of health care professionals in nursing homes and hospitals in the U.S. refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Up to 80% are declining a chance at some institutions, according to the AP.
- In several states, officials have raised the alarm about the low rate of vaccine delivery among healthcare professionals.
- Skepticism about the vaccine is greater than the average among those working in a health setting. Three out of ten say they hesitate to get vaccinated, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine had to warn frontline people that if they want a vaccine soon, they must act now.
- In the past few days, the United States has broken records for both the largest daily increase in new COVID-19 cases and the highest number of daily deaths.
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In nursing homes and American hospitals, a surprising number of healthcare professionals refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Up to 80% of employees are refusing a vaccine at some institutions, according to the AP. This is due to unfounded fears about the side effects of these life-saving photos, the AP reported.
The two vaccines administered in the U.S. have been approved by the FDA, which means that the benefits outweigh any potential risks. In addition, none of the vaccines raised major safety concerns in large-scale clinical trials.
However, there is skepticism between health workers and the American public in general.
Dr. Joseph Varon, an intensive care physician in Houston, said that more than half of the nurses in his unit are opposed to vaccination for political reasons. “Most of the reasons why most of my people don’t want to get the vaccine are politically motivated,” Varon told NPR.
In Portland, Oregon, Dr. Stephen Noble, a cardiothoracic surgeon told the AP: “I don’t think anyone wants to be a guinea pig. At the end of the day, as a man of science, I just want to see what the data show. And give me the complete data. “
About a quarter (27%) of the American public is hesitant to receive a vaccine, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. This rises to 29% of people working in a healthcare setting, the study shows.
In Ohio, 60% of state nursing home workers have decided against the vaccine, the governor said.
Governor Mike DeWine has announced that he hopes to instill a “sense of urgency” in his state’s health care professionals by offering a severe warning. He told front-line personnel that they could miss the vaccination soon if they don’t act now, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
“Our message today is that the train may take a while to return,” DeWine said at a news conference.
In other states, there is also concern about low rates of vaccine uptake by frontline workers.
In North Carolina, public health officials have revealed that more than half of people working in nursing homes have refused to receive an injection, according to the AP.
A significant proportion of the nursing staff in West Virginia also refuses to be vaccinated. About 45% said no to a COVID-19 jab, AP reported.
Martin Wright, who heads the West Virginia Health Care Association, blamed the rapid spread of misinformation about vaccines: “It’s a race against social media,” he said.
Between 20 and 40% of frontline workers in Los Angeles also refused an injection of COVID-19, according to public health officials in the Los Angeles Times. In the neighboring county of Riverside, the newspaper says that percentage rises to 50%.
In an attempt to increase vaccination rates among healthcare professionals, several administrators resorted to offering free raffles and breakfasts at Waffle House in exchange for an injection, the AP reported.
So far, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker, the United States has administered more than seven million doses of vaccines.
The need to successfully implant the vaccine has never been more apparent. In the past few days, the United States has broken records for both the largest daily increase in new COVID-19 cases and the highest number of daily deaths.
New daily cases of COVID-19 in the United States
Worldometers
On Friday, there was a record 307,579 new daily cases, according to Worldometer.
On Thursday, the Worldometer shows that 4,245 people died from coronavirus-related complications,