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Despite the priority given to COVID-19 vaccination, 48% of front-line healthcare professionals have not yet been vaccinated more than once. According to the survey Conducted by Washington post The Kaiser Family Foundation runs from February 11th to March 7th.
The researchers interviewed 1327 front-line healthcare professionals, defined as patients and those who were directly exposed to their body fluids, online or by phone.
Seven out of ten (68%) workers in charge of diagnosis and treatment, including doctors and nurses, reported receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. In contrast, 44% of administrative workers and 37% of workers who support patient care such as bathing, eating, cleaning, exercising, and household chores reported being vaccinated.
There was also a significant difference in the proportion of respondents who were vaccinated in different care environments. 66% of hospital workers and 64% of hospital outpatient clinic workers said they were vaccinated, compared to 52% of clinic workers and 50 of nursing home and life support facility workers. %, 26% of home care workers.
Overall, 52% of the study participants were vaccinated at least once. The proportion of people vaccinated was higher in men than in women and in whites than in blacks and Hispanics.
Vaccine hesitant
The group of unvaccinated front-line health care workers includes people who have planned vaccinations (3%) or who have planned to be vaccinated but have not yet (15%). It was. Twelve percent of respondents said they had not decided whether to get vaccinated, and 18% said they had no plans to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The last two groups (the vaccine hesitants and the opposition to vaccination) consisted of three out of ten health care workers surveyed.
The majority of workers in these categories were concerned about potential side effects (82%) and new vaccines (81%).
Half of black workers, 45% of non-university degree workers, and 40% of Republican and pro-Republican workers are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States. He said he was not confident that he was being inspected. Safety and effectiveness. About 20% of each of these groups say they will not be vaccinated.
Vaccine hesitation among study participants was fairly similar to that of the general public, as revealed in an accompanying poll of 971 US adults who were not front-line health care workers.
For example, 21% of healthcare professionals and 17% of the general public said they were “not very confident” that the vaccine was properly tested. Fifteen percent of healthcare professionals and 18% of the general public said they were “not confident at all” that this was the case.
Access to vaccination
Access to the COVID-19 vaccine from employers was an important aspect of the vaccination rate of front-line healthcare workers. Six out of ten non-self-employed health care workers say they provided or received the COVID-19 vaccine from their employer (including 84% of vaccinated health care workers).
The proportion of workers who received the COVID-19 vaccine from their employers was much lower (34%) among the workers working at the patient’s home.
Of the workers who are planning vaccinations but have not yet booked, more than 6 out of 10 will be vaccinated through their employers. About 3 out of 10 said the employer did not provide them with a shot.
60 percent Survey participants treated Alternatively, support was provided when COVID-19 patients received their first vaccination. Only 42% of those who did not treat or assist the patient took the first shot.
Of those identified as Democratic voters or nonpartisan workers who are Democratic, 58% got their first shot. This was only true for 48% of those identified as Republicans or pro-Republican independents. Twelve percent of the Democratic group decided not to be vaccinated, and 24% of the Republican group made the same decision.
Political pandemic
Pandemic politicization is one of the reasons why so many minority health care workers refused to vaccinate, Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, chairman of the Medical Group Management Association, said in an interview. Medscape Medical News..
“It has increased distrust of the government for the black and brown communities, and the government was associated with fear that this vaccine would be produced without due diligence and safety, so it’s a terrible brand. In addition, there are historical reasons for the population to distrust the medical community and government, all of which, even medical professionals, have created Operational Warp Speed. That’s why the vaccination coverage is low, “she said.
Michael J. Wright, Director of Health, Safety and Environment at United Steelworkers (USW), said: Medscape Medical News Medical professionals represented by USW Washington post-KFF survey.
One reason, he said, was that the union promoted vaccination. “We did the webinar and put out the materials,” he said.
Wright also said healthcare professionals trust the union more than employers and governments. Hospitals and other employers said, “We are not always acting with the right concerns for healthcare professionals, for example, even though some hospitals are now widely available. , Does not provide N95 respirators to some workers. Workers use the same mask many times. “
First hospital worker
Meanwhile, Fischer-Wright pointed out that the hospital prioritized its workers, including those in hospital-owned clinics, when it first administered the vaccine it received from the government. Most recently, she said, they began to transfer their excess supply to the clinics of local doctors.
In addition to this supply chain issue, she also noted the need to store Pfizer vaccines at ultra-low temperatures. Although Moderna vaccines can be stored in regular freezers, “Pfizer vaccines can only be stored in hospitals and large clinics with research-grade freezers,” she said.
She explained that many of the staff had to ask for vaccination appointments with the general public at the same time, as few clinics had access to the vaccine early on. It has proven to be a barrier for many healthcare professionals.
She said these factors mainly explain why a much higher percentage of hospital employees have been vaccinated than clinic staff so far.
She argued that in the future, a large public education campaign would be needed to overcome the vaccine hesitation. She said doctors can act as role models by being vaccinated on their own and they should play their part to educate their staff. But she said, “I’m a little reluctant to confront people about their tightly guarded beliefs.”
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