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ATLANTA – Hospital workers here in Georgia were among the first to be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but a Channel 2 Action News The survey reveals that thousands of these workers have chosen not to be vaccinated.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray contacted all major metro hospitals in Atlanta, but several hospitals refused to provide us with immunization data.
An Atlanta hospital, Piedmont Hospital, will soon require employees to get vaccinated.
As of September 1, every doctor, executive and new employee must have a COVID-19 vaccine. Other employees will follow later.
We contacted all the main hospitals in the region.
At Grady Memorial Hospital, 57% of staff are vaccinated.
Emory Healthcare operates 11 hospitals, including Emory Hospital and Emory Midtown, and said two-thirds of its medical staff have been vaccinated.
Northeast Georgia Health Systems tells us that vaccination rates at its 6 facilities range from 42% to 61%. In total, only about half of its staff have been vaccinated.
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“You know, I think we’re sort of seeing the worst of the worst, but I think we kind of have our own opinions on this stuff, too,” Kaylee Sinkoe said.
Sinkoe is a traveling nurse who currently works in intensive care at Piedmont Hospital and is one of those healthcare workers who have chosen to wait to get the shot.
“I have a history of reactions to vaccines and things like that, so that makes me a little worried,” Sinkoe said.
Several hospital groups, including Wellstar, Northside and Piedmont, have refused to provide us with information on the vaccination rates of their staff.
A Northside spokesperson told us “because a vaccination is a medical procedure, employees’ medical information must be protected.”
But University of Georgia epidemiologist Dr Mark Ebell says this is important safety information that patients have a right to know.
“If I have an elective procedure at a hospital and have a choice of multiple hospitals, I’m going to go where I’m safest,” Ebell said.
We also asked if hospitals will require the vaccine.
Among the hospitals we have interviewed, so far, only Piedmont has planned to do so.
“I see no alternative if they want to increase these vaccination rates, but make it mandatory. People can then decide where they want to work, ”Ebell said.
Not only do some of these hospitals not provide us with vaccination rates for their staff, but it is also voluntary for them to share this information with the federal government at this time.
© 2021 Cox Media Group
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