/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ff0bdec6c292aea4602b2c7/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=5000&cropY1=253&cropY2=3067 "Large numbers of health and frontline professionals are refusing the Covid-19 vaccine")
Top line
Despite the rapid acceleration of Covid-19’s death count in the United States, a surprisingly high percentage of health professionals and frontline workers across the country – who have been prioritized as initial recipients of the coronavirus vaccine – are hesitant or openly refuse to take it, despite clear scientific evidence that vaccines are safe and effective.
The nursing team prepares the Covid-19 vaccine. (Photo by Stefano Guidi / Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Earlier this week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said he was “concerned” about the relatively low number of nursing home workers who chose to get the vaccine, with DeWine saying that approximately 60% of the nursing home staff refused the injection.
Dr. Joseph Varon, chief of intensive care at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, told NPR in December that more than half of the nurses in his unit informed him that they would not receive the vaccine.
Approximately 55 percent of New York Fire Department firefighters interviewed said they would not receive the coronavirus vaccine, said the president of the Fire Association last month.
O Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that the hospital and public officials in Riverside, California, were forced to find out how best to allocate unused doses after about 50% of frontline workers in the county refused the vaccine.
Less than half of the employees at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Tehama County, California, were willing to be vaccinated, and about 20% to 40% of LA County’s frontline employees said they had refused the opportunity to take the vaccine.
Dr. Nikhila Juvvadi, clinical director at Loretto Hospital in Chicago, said a survey was carried out in December, and 40% of the hospital’s staff said they would not be vaccinated.
Key fund:
A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 29% of healthcare professionals were hesitant to receive the vaccine, citing concerns about potential side effects and a lack of faith in the government to ensure that vaccines were safe. Frontline workers in the United States are disproportionately black and Hispanic. The pandemic caused a “disproportionate tribute” to this segment of the population, which supposedly was responsible for about 65% of deaths in cases where there is data on race and ethnicity. A study published by the journal The Lancet during the summer, he found that “black health workers were twice as likely as their white counterparts” to have positive results for coronavirus. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center published in December, skepticism about the vaccine is greater among black Americans, as less than 43% said they would definitely / probably receive the Covid-19 vaccine. Dr. Juvvadi told NPR that “there is no transparency between pharmaceutical companies or research companies – or the government at times – about how many people from” black and Latin communities were involved in vaccine research. Dr. Varon said that “the fact that [President] Trump is in charge of speeding up the process that bothers “individuals who refuse to be immunized, adding that” everyone thinks this is aimed at harming specific sectors of the population “. In an article published in New York Times earlier this week, emergency physicians Benjamin Thomas and Monique Smith wrote that “the vaccine’s reluctance is a direct consequence of the mistreatment of the medical system to blacks” and past atrocities such as the unethical surgeries performed by J. Marion Sims and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, best exemplifies “the culture of medical exploitation, abuse and neglect of black Americans”.
Crucial quote:
“I heard Tuskegee more times than I can count in the past month – and, you know, it’s a valid, valid concern,” said Dr. Juvvadi.
What to note:
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview on Friday that it is “quite possible” that the Covid-19 vaccine is needed for international travel and to attend school sometime in the future.
Great number:
40 million. In early December, government officials said they planned to have 40 million doses available by the end of 2020, which would be enough to fully vaccinate 20 million Americans. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 3 million Americans received the first dose of the vaccine, with 14 million doses distributed.
Further reading:
Fauci says the United States is considering allowing more Americans to receive the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine with the corrected approach (Forbes)
Some health professionals refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine, even with priority access (LA Times)
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