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Not everyone is excited about the upcoming COVID-19 vaccines.
This includes hospital workers.
Newark University Hospital recently found that only 50% of its employees were comfortable taking vaccines once they were available, according to an internal survey.
It’s a stark reminder of the fears held by many about the accelerated process of vaccine development and testing as the medical establishment battles to fight the coronavirus pandemic. It should also be noted that the number of COVID-19 positive employees at the acute care facility doubled in November, according to Dr Shereef Elnahal, president and CEO of the teaching hospital and former health commissioner of the state.
The concerns of hospital staff mirror those of many members of the general public, who must weigh the risk of a new vaccine against the dangers of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 17,000 in New Jersey alone.
“Reluctance with vaccines and public confidence are the biggest risks at this point,” Elnahal said. “I am confident in what we are seeing with science and data. I am confident in the logistics of eventually getting the vaccine to where it needs to go – and the process of administering it. But what we haven’t solved yet is the reluctance problem.
The worst-case scenario could be that vaccines are rejected by the public when they hit the market, allowing the pandemic to continue to rage.
In the University Hospital investigation, which included non-medical hospital workers, concerns were mostly about possible unwanted side effects, Elnahal said.
The state health department found similar results among nurses in a survey of health care workers in October. While two-thirds of New Jersey doctors said they would take the vaccine when available, only “47% of nurses said they would,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said , during a recent press briefing on the coronavirus.
US Army General Gustav F. Perna – who is responsible for getting the vaccine to all Americans – recently said in 60 Minutes that if “we get the American people vaccinated and they don’t take them, shame ours”.
Healthcare workers should be on the front lines when the vaccine first becomes available, an influential government advisory group said on Tuesday.
But a perfect storm of mistrust, misinformation and politics permeates the expected vaccine rollout, experts say.
“It’s no surprise to me, the reluctance to take the vaccine, because we’ve politicized it,” said Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. “The problem is, we’ve politicized it in two ways: you have the personality cult, the Trump people who think (the virus) is not real, and then you have the people who are anti-Trump. who think, ‘I don’t trust this because it’s wrong, and it’s wrong.
“It’s huge. And remember, the university hospital has a large black population that is initially medically suspicious.
Inside Newark Hospital, a two-pronged battle continues as COVID-19 cases rise amid a second wave. One is being waged against the virus, and the other is seeking to win hearts and minds over vaccines through a massive public relations campaign.
“We wanted to be proactive about this, knowing that there was a lot of skepticism about vaccines,” said Elnahal, who was one of the first volunteers to receive the vaccine during clinical trials. “Not only because the speed was quite fast, and their development… but also because there are many nuances in the history of medical experimentation in communities of color.
Elnahal worked to get the message out locally, tackling mistrust among the public and in his own establishment.
“This strategy has to be fair,” he said. “And I think the right strategy is to have trusted local stakeholders help you get this message across alongside the medical facility.”
Acknowledging fear and skepticism – especially in communities of color – is essential, Elnahal said.
When University Hospital and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School teamed up to conduct trials in Newark for the Moderna vaccine, it released a statement to residents, citing Tuskegee’s study on syphilis and medical research conducted by J Marion Sims. He told them that their skepticism was justified.
“For something as serious as a chemical that you inject into your own body, of course you have to be skeptical and look at all the information,” Elnahal said.
“And this skepticism is real. It is justified, ”he added. “And it’s really our job as a medical institution to tackle it directly.”
Elnahal is among the health officials trying to gain that trust. There is still a lot to convince. But he is hopeful.
“Even though I agree it’s the risk, I think we can overcome it. But it won’t be easy, ”he said.
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Spencer Kent can be reached at [email protected].
Writer Rebecca Everett contributed to this report.
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