Rural states got off to a faster start on vaccinations, but big urban centers expected to gain momentum
CDC lists Massachusetts in the middle of the pack, along with Texas and New York.
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Physician Alister Martin received one of the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Dec. 16.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
West Virginia deployed National Guard units to get first doses of the vaccine to every nursing home before New Yearâs Day. In South Dakota, the Civil Air Patrol waited at the Sioux Falls airport to ferry vaccines to remote parts of the state.
The Associated Press
The desperately awaited vaccination drive against the coronavirus in the U.S. is running into resistance from an unlikely quarter: Surprising numbers of health care workers who have seen firsthand the smisery inflicted by COVID-19 are refusing shots.
It is happening in nursing homes and, to a lesser degree, in hospitals, with employees expressing what experts say are unfounded fears of side effects from vaccines that were developed at record speed. More than three weeks into the campaign, some places are seeing as much as 80% of the staff holding back.
“I don’t think anyone wants to be a guinea pig,” said Dr. Stephen Noble, a 42-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon in Portland, Oregon, who is postponing getting vaccinated. “At the end of the day, as a man of science, I just want to see what the data show. And give me the full data.”
Jan 9, 2021
Officials working to get the COVID-19 vaccine to those who need it most have run into an unfathomable problem.
Health care workers are buying into the nonsense that the vaccine might not be safe, and are refusing the shot.
Not all of them are so bull-headed, of course. Many are doing the right thing and getting the shots so they are safe AND they are doing their part to keep their patients safe.
All of those health care workers and first responders who have done the right thing are to be commended. They know that by accepting the inoculation, they are taking the first step toward protecting the entire community. For every one of those individuals who have been vaccinated, countless numbers of their patients, co-workers, family members and others they may cross paths with may be spared from infection.