thevaccinereaction--2020-12-29--Many Health Care Workers Concerned About Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines

Frontline health care workers are the first to be offered the emergency use authorization ( EUA ) COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer , Inc. ( and BioNTech SE ) and Moderna , Inc .
Many nurses and emergency-response workers , however , have expressed reluctance to get the vaccine.1 According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) in September 2020 , 63 percent of health care personnel reported that they would be likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine.2 The American Nurses Foundation reported that 36 percent of nurses ’ survey said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many health care professionals are concerned that the COVID-19 vaccine development occurred too quickly with not enough information about vaccine safety and side effects.4 Maryland-based registered nurse Amelia Foster said she would like to see longer-term data before she is confident it is safe .
She said , “ You just don ’ t know what the effects are and that ’ s scary.
” Some younger medical workers are reluctant because of possible adverse effects such as infertility.6 Although the CDC has reported that the potential risks of messenger RNA vaccines to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unknown because these vaccines have not been studied in pregnant women,7 the CDC and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ( ACOG ) recommend that COVID-19 vaccines should not be withheld from pregnant women if pregnant people are part of a group that is recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine ( e.g.
, health care personnel ) .8 Jessica Romanowski , a surgical technician at McLaren Flint Hospital in Flint , Michigan said : Health Care Professionals are Expected to Be Vaccine “ Ambassadors ” A survey conducted by the American Nurses Foundation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were comfortable discussing COVID-19 vaccines with patients.10 Given that so many health care workers are expressing concerns and anxiety about the EUA COVID-19 vaccines , the CDC has said that addressing vaccine hesitancy among this group is a top priority because health care workers are also big influencers on their patients.11 12 “ We encourage physicians to learn all they can because if we don ’ t have complete confidence in the vaccines , we ’ ll never convince our patients to have complete confidence , ” said Susan Bailey , MD , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AMA ) .13 William Schaffner , MD , professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine said : He added , “ We need a lot of information and a lot of reassurance .
The facts aren ’ t enough .
It will be very important for health care providers to get the vaccine so they can model the behavior and personalize their stories.
” 14 COVID-19 Vaccines May Become Mandatory for Health Care Workers Currently , employers can not force their health care workers to get the EUA COVID-19 vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have reportedly said that if nurses and other health care professionals continue to refuse to get vaccinated , they will require COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for employment.15 16