Front line health care workers, witnesses to the ravages of COVID-19, would presumably be eager to get one of the recently released vaccines, but AP reporters found that surprising numbers are refusing the shots.
AP investigative reporter Bernard Condon and national reporter Matt Sedensky, both based in New York, and Seattle-based health and science reporter Carla K. Johnson assembled the most detailed national look yet at one of the most vexing snags in the coronavirus vaccine rollout: the fact that surprising numbers of health care workers — who have seen firsthand the misery inflicted by COVID-19 — are refusing the shots.
Stormy Tatom, an intesive care unit nurse in Beaumont, Texas, is shown in an undated photo after 12 hours in an N95 mask caring for COVID-19 patients. Tatom said she decided against getting vaccinated for now “because of the unknown long-term side effects.”
Stormy Tatom via AP
The team’s deep reporting, with contributions from colleagues across the country, found the paradox occurring in nursing homes and to a lesser degree hospitals, with some individual facilities seeing a refusal rate as high as 80%. The resistance has led some states to threaten to bypass such workers from their priority place in the vaccine line unless more get on board.
Syringes of COVID-19 vaccine are displayed in Pompano Beach, Fla., Jan. 6, 2021.
AP Photo / Wilfredo Lee
Health care workers prepare the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for medical workers at a hospital in Orange, Calif., Jan. 7, 2021.
AP Photo / Jae C. Hong
A pharmacist prepares a syringe of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Queen Anne Healthcare, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Seattle where residents and workers were vaccinated on Jan. 8, 2021.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
Workers at Queen Anne Healthcare, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Seattle, wait in a hallway to receive vaccination for COVID-19, Jan. 8, 2021.
AP Photo / Ted S. Warren
Health care worker Pam Peter, right, receives her second round of the COVID-19 vaccine at John Knox Village in Pompano Beach, Fla., Jan. 6, 2021. Ninety residents and 80 staff members received their second shot of the vaccine, and 50 new staff members received their first round of the vaccine.
AP Photo / Wilfredo Lee
A health care worker receives a second round of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot at Beaumont Health in Southfield, Mich., Jan. 5, 2021. Surprising numbers of health care workers who have seen firsthand the death and misery inflicted by COVID-19 are refusing shots, prompting some administrators to offer incentives to those getting vaccinated.
AP Photo / Paul Sancya
Their story included voices from some health workers expressing what experts say are unfounded fears of side effects from vaccines that were developed at record speed. And they quoted frustrated facility administrators who were offering everything from free breakfasts at Waffle House to a car raffle to get employees to roll up their sleeves.
The piece resonated in a big way with readers. In an extremely busy news week when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, this vaccine story was the third-most clicked on the AP News app for the week, with more than 1 million pageviews. And it ranked as one of the highest for the week in terms of reader engagement.
For bringing to light an important part of the stumbling early rollout of the much-anticipated vaccine, Condon, Sedensky and Johnson win this week’s Best of the States award.
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