SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – In some bags in the country, a large number of health workers turned down the COVID-19 vaccine, expressing concern about the deployment and the prospect of vaccine.
In San Diego County, however, the available data indicates low bounce rates among front-line health care workers, although in some cases health care providers collect their numbers in a way that makes it difficult to assess.
Refusal rates among health workers in some Southern California counties have received considerable attention in recent weeks. The director of Orange County’s health agency said about 30 percent of the county’s health care workers have so far refused the vaccine. It is estimated that 50 percent of health workers in Riverside County have declined.
As healthcare professionals face the greatest risks of COVID-19 and have the highest priority for vaccination, refusal at this rate could potentially lead to mistrust of the vaccine. But health experts in San Diego County warn that denial data is often more complicated than it seems. The numbers could be inflated by staff who delayed the vaccine rather than flatly deny it, or by employees who were vaccinated elsewhere.
In some cases, healthcare professionals delay the vaccine because they already have COVID-19.
“We do not have to send vaccines to people who are already theoretically immune. Our policy, therefore, together with the CDC, is that you can postpone 90 days with the people, ‘said dr. Christian Ramers, assistant medical director of Family Health Centers in San Diego, said.
Among those who hesitate, there is a spectrum. A national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation last month found that 15 percent of health care workers fall into the most skeptical category, saying they will “definitely not” get the vaccine.
Hesitation as a whole is not one thing. This is not an anti-wax thing, ‘said Dr. Ramers said.
Ramers said that at his own clinic, virtually none of the front-line healthcare professionals who turned down patients rejected the vaccine. He said the number of denials has increased among back office staff and those working from home.
Some women have expressed concern about the vaccine because they were pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant, said Dr. Ramers said. Pregnant women were not explicitly enrolled for the Moderna or Pfizer trials, although a few participants did become pregnant during the study.
According to Ramers, after many individuals discussed the risks and benefits of the vaccine with staff, many pregnant women chose to take the chance.
ABC 10News surveyed some of the largest healthcare providers in San Diego County.
Some providers, such as Sharp Healthcare, have said they do not detect the number of outright refusals. As of this week, Sharp said 75 percent of its health workers have been vaccinated. Sharp vaccinated 16,200 employees out of 19,000 employees and 2,700 affiliated doctors.
Scripps Health said it has so far vaccinated 67 percent of its workers, or 14,449 of its 21,559 staff and employees. The other 33 percent have not yet responded.
“A non-response can mean a number of different things, such as getting the vaccine elsewhere, having more information, wanting to wait longer or getting pregnant,” said Stephen Carpowich, Scripps’ public relations manager.
UC San Diego Health said of the approximately 13,000 healthcare workers who offered the vaccine, 72 percent received a first dose. Only four percent declined. Another 6 percent are postponed for various reasons, including vacation or pregnancy.
The remaining 18 percent were scheduled for a vaccination or had not yet responded.
Health experts suspect that San Diego County’s drop rate among health workers is in low single digits.
“This is an acceptance rate of 95, 98 percent of the initial health workers who offered the vaccine,” said Dr. Ramers said. “And we are the ones who see these patients, and we know how bad this disease can be.”
He said anyone hesitating to get the vaccine should talk to their doctor about their individual risk factors.