Large numbers of healthcare and frontline workers refuse Covid-19 vaccine

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Topline

Despite the rapid acceleration in the number of Covid-19 deaths in the United States, a surprisingly high percentage of medical professionals and frontline workers across the country – who have been considered early receptions of the coronavirus vaccine – would be hesitant or would categorically refuse to take it, despite clear scientific evidence that vaccines are safe and effective.

Piedmont's Covid-19 vaccination campaign begins in Turin — Nurses prepare the Covid-19 vaccine. (Photo by Stefano Guidi / Getty Images)

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Highlights

Earlier this week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said he was “troubled” by the relatively low number of nursing home workers who have chosen to be vaccinated, DeWine saying that about 60% nursing home staff refused the vaccine.

Dr Joseph Varon, head of intensive care at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, told NPR in December that more than half of the nurses in his unit had informed him that they would not get the vaccine.

About 55% of firefighters surveyed from New York firefighters said they would not get the coronavirus vaccine, the Firefighters Association president said last month.

the Los Angeles Times Riverside, Calif., hospital and officials reported Thursday were forced to figure out how best to allocate unused doses after about 50% of the county’s frontline workers refused the vaccine.

Less than half of the hospital workers at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Tehama County, Calif., Were ready to get the vaccine, and about 20% to 40% of frontline workers in LA County were said to have refused an opportunity to get vaccinated.

Dr Nikhila Juvvadi, clinical director at Loretto Hospital in Chicago, said a survey was conducted in December and 40% of hospital staff said they would not get the shot.

Key context:

A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 29% of healthcare workers were hesitant to receive the vaccine, citing concerns about potential side effects and a lack of trust in the government to ensure vaccine safety. Frontline workers in the United States are disproportionately black and Hispanic. The pandemic has taken a “disproportionate toll” on this segment of the population, which is believed to have accounted for around 65% of deaths in cases where race and ethnicity data are available. A study published by the journal The Lancet over the summer, “healthcare workers of color were more than twice as likely as their white counterparts” to test positive for the coronavirus. Vaccine skepticism is highest among black Americans, according to a Pew Research Center poll released in December, as less than 43% said they would definitely / likely receive a Covid-19 vaccine. Dr Juvvadi told NPR that “there is no transparency between drug companies or research companies – or the government at times – on how many people” from black and Latin communities are involved in vaccine research. . Dr Varon stated that “the fact that [President] Trump is charged with speeding up the process disturbing “individuals who refuse to be vaccinated, adding” that they all think it is supposed to harm specific sectors of the population. “In an editorial published in the New York Times earlier this week, emergency doctors Benjamin Thomas and Monique Smith wrote that “the reluctance to vaccinate is a direct result of the mistreatment of blacks by the medical system” and past atrocities, such as surgeries against the ethics carried out by J. Marion Sims and the Tuskegee Syphilis study best exemplify “the culture of medical exploitation, abuse and neglect of black Americans.”

Crucial quote:

“I’ve heard Tuskegee more times than I can count over the past month – and, you know, that’s a valid and valid concern,” Dr Juvvadi said.

To monitor:

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview Friday that it is “entirely possible” that the Covid-19 vaccine may be required for international travel and to go at school at some point in the future.

Large 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 immunize 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, and 14 million doses were distributed.