Dr. Medell Briggs-Malonson vaksineres mot koronaviruset av sykepleier Eunice Lee ved Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center i Westwood, California, den 16. desember 2020. Foto: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via AP / NTB.

Oppsiktsvekkende mange helsearbeidere i USA er nølende eller fullstendig avvisende til å la seg vaksinere mot koronviruset, til tross for forsikringer om at vaksinen er trygg og effektiv.

Ved flere institusjoner er det mer enn halvparten av helsearbeiderne som ikke vil ha vaksinen, skriver Forbes.

I Ohio er det rundt 60 prosent av de ansatte ved sykehjem som har besluttet ikke å ta vaksinen:

Earlier this week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he was «troubled» by the relatively low numbers of nursing home workers who have elected to take the vaccine, with DeWine stating that approximately 60% of nursing home staff declined the shot.

En lignende andel oppgis ved intensivenheten ved et fremragende sykehus i Texas:

Dr. Joseph Varon, chief of critical care at Houston’s United Memorial Medical Center, told NPR in December more than half of the nurses in his unit informed him they would not get the vaccine.

Betydelig vaksineskepsis er også å finne blant helsearbeidere i California og Illinois:

The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that hospital and public officials in Riverside, Calif., have been forced to figure out how best to allocate unused doses after an estimated 50% of frontline workers in the county refused the vaccine.

Fewer than half of the hospital workers at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Tehama County, Calif., were willing to be vaccinated, and around 20% to 40% of L.A. County’s frontline workers have reportedly declined an opportunity to take the vaccine.

Dr. Nikhila Juvvadi, the chief clinical officer at Chicago’s Loretto Hospital, said that a survey was administered in December, and 40% of the hospital staff said they would not get vaccinated.

Undersøkelsene blant helsearbeidere synes å utfordre en utbredt antagelse om at skepsis til koronavaksiner skyldes manglende kunnskaper eller hang til konspirasjonsteorier.