As we send 2020 off into the ether, we might as well be subjected to a few more collective sighs.
Some frontline healthcare workers, despite having priority access and despite fucking science, are apparently declining to take the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s the takeaway from a new Los Angeles Timesreport, out Thursday, i.e. New Year's Eve.
While reports of less-than-ideal vaccine participation rates have popped up around the country, the Times piece focuses on several regions in the state of California, including one—Riverside County—where an estimated 50 percent of frontline workers have refused to get vaccinated.
Meanwhile, fewer than half of the 700 eligible workers at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Tehama County were up for getting the vaccine. According to the report, between 20 and 40 percent of Los Angeles County frontline workers have also declined to be vaccinated. And on a more national level, a recent poll cited in the report discovered that as many as 29 percent of all healthcare workers would describe themselves as "vaccine hesitant."
Though you shouldn't need a reminder, it's important to note here that the U.S.—per the CDC—presently has the safest vaccine supply in its history. Furthermore, the risk for serious illness and/or death due to COVID-19 "far outweighs" any perceived benefits of (possible) natural immunity.
For more on vaccines, including a litany of reasons why you should get one, peep this.
The Times report comes amid continued concerns about the spread of anti-vaxxer content on social media. This week, we also learned that the rollout of the vaccine is not moving as quickly as was initially promised, with Dr. Anthony Fauci calling the current rate "disappointing."
During an appearance on the Today show, Fauci looked ahead to the first month of 2021 as pivotal in the process.
"The good news is that science has and will come to the rescue getting us vaccines," he said Thursday.
