In the first weekend of vaccinations for health professionals and first responders in Tarrant County, the goal was to deliver 1,000 vaccines a day. But only about 700 people attended each day.
The goal may have been optimistic, the launch is just beginning and the holiday weekend may be partly to blame, but the under-expected participation underscores what may be a reluctance by some to obtain a voluntary vaccine, considered by experts as necessary to end the pandemic.
In a makeshift vaccine clinic installed in a county building in South Fort Worth on Monday, the commander. Bryan Sudan, from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, was among those who rolled up their sleeves.
“It is a very easy decision,” he said. “Everyone was touched by this and, if not, you will be.”
Sudan said his own brother is in the hospital now with COVID and three of his co-workers at the sheriff’s office died of the virus.
But for some, getting a chance is not such an easy decision.
Even in the medical field, some workers just don’t want it.
A survey about a month ago of ambulance workers found that only 60 to 65% said they would get the vaccine, said Matt Zavadsky of Medstar.
Some are concerned that it passed too quickly and could be dangerous or just not effective, said Zavadsky.
“The good news is that as vaccine education gets better, more people in our group have indicated that they want to be vaccinated,” he said. “It will never be 100%”.
Stephen Love, director of the North Texas Hospital Council, said he believed, based on his conversations with hospital executives, that about 70% of healthcare professionals plan to get the vaccine.
But he said the percentage is much higher for doctors.
“99% of doctors want the vaccine,” said Love. “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, COVID’s patients continue to reach hospitals in North Texas at an alarming rate, and more in Tarrant County than anywhere else in the region.
The first attendants in Fort Worth are dealing with an average of 117 COVID-19 calls every day now.
Only patients who are most seriously ill are taken to the hospital.
“Things are really getting really tight,” said Love. “We are very concerned.”
And the models predict that things will only get worse.
“And we haven’t even seen the peak of Christmas yet,” added Zavadsky. “So we are really concerned about the next week or two, for sure.”
Back at the vaccination clinic, there was hope that if enough people got the vaccine, the solution would be in sight.
“You have to trust science and trust the science involved,” said Sudan.
* Map locations are approximate, central locations in the city and are not intended to indicate where the really infected people live.
** County totals below include all 32 northern Texas counties, not just Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant.
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