Hospital workers key to vaccine trust

Only 58 percent of health care employees say they will or have gotten the COVID-19 shot

As the number of Texans who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine climbs above the 2 million mark, many health care workers in the state’s 1A bracket still have not.

High vaccination rates among this population could be key to convincing members of the public who may be hesitant to sign up for their own shots. Trusted experts who can talk about their vaccination experiences can combat misinformation about vaccine content and safety, and speed along herd immunity.

Yet only 58 percent of health care workers said they would take or have received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a national health policy think tank.

It lines up with most Houston hospitals’ figures. At Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, clinicians have vaccinated about 58 percent of 1A workers. It has vaccinated 7,500 health care workers in total, including those not employed at the hospital.

Memorial Hermann has vaccinated more than 32,500 health care workers. United Memorial Medical Center in north Houston, where the U.S. Army set up a COVID care unit last summer, has vaccinated about 60 percent of its frontline workers. HCA Houston Healthcare also said it provided “thousands” of vaccine doses to its employees, but declined to provide a figure.

Vaccine providers need to immunize doctors and nurses to prevent them from getting sick and causing more harm, experts said.

“Hospitals have an additional set of obligations to communities to provide safe medical care,” said Janet Malek, a Baylor College of Medicine professor who studies medical ethics. “If their own employees are getting sick, they pose a risk to patients and their coworkers.”

Some hospitals are using perks to convince workers to get vaccinated, leading to better results.

Houston Methodist offered $500 bonuses for employees working during the pandemic. One of the eligibility criteria? Getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

Houston Methodist has vaccinated approximately 92 percent of its doctors and 75 percent of its frontline workers, which include nurses and therapists who work with COVID-19 patients.

“While we would like to have 100 percent vaccinated, this is still great to see,” Dr. Rob Phillips, Houston Methodist’s chief physician executive, wrote in an email to employees.

Even though the promise of a bonus may not sit well with outsiders, Malek said it makes sense for a hospital to do whatever it takes to fulfill its obligations for safe medical care.

Vaccine hesitancy

Most of the vaccine hesitance came before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for emergency use, but medical leaders are still struggling to get their staff on board. In December, Dr. Joseph Varon, chief of staff at United Memorial Medical Center, told national media that his nurses — despite seeing dozens of COVID-19 patients a day — did not trust the vaccines then in development.

Two months later, Varon has had some luck swaying nurses who were initially going to wait to get vaccinated. But he’s still struggling to convince the last 40 percent to get the shot.

“These are nurses that see people die,” he said. “The amount of misinformation is huge.”

Many told him they don’t trust new vaccines or medications because of racist medical trials like the Tuskegee syphilis study, or they’re worried safety precautions were skipped as vaccine developers received more funding to get emergency use authorization.

Wait and see

The coronavirus vaccines have been developed so quickly because it builds on previous research from the SARS and MERS epidemics, and breakthroughs in vaccine technologies in the last 30 years enabled scientists to create materials such as mRNA quickly. The vaccines are authorized for emergency use during a public health crisis by the FDA, speeding up their availability in the U.S. This means there has to be scientific evidence it is effective, and no approved alternative.

By vaccinating as many health care workers as possible, hospitals are able to ensure they have a full workforce in case of surges.

“The frontline health care workers are caring not only for COVID but every other medical illness right now,” said Dr. David Lakey, a former Texas health commissioner who sits on the Texas COVID-19 Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel. “And if they are sick, then you lose that critical workforce to care for the rest of us.”

Another 33 percent of health care workers said they're hesitant to get it, but will as more data comes out or if it's required by their employers.

It’s encouraging for the public to hear that roughly six in 10 health care workers are willing to be immunized, said Liz Hamel, one of the Kaiser Family Foundation study’s authors.

“Even people in the medical profession have never seen a vaccine be pushed out and approved this fast,” Hamel said. “Hesitance is a perfectly natural standpoint to have at this point.”

Trust the professionals

People are more likely to trust doctors and nurses for information about the vaccine, Hamel said. Eight in 10 people surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they would consult a health care provider before getting the shot, and that includes asking for information from friends and family who work in clinical settings.

But even if health care workers can persuade more people to get immunized, they need manufacturers, the federal government and state officials to expand vaccine supply or people won’t bother getting the vaccine.

“The more we increase the size of the enthusiastic group, there may be frustration and attitudes changed based on availability,” Hamel said.