With thousands of California front-line hospital workers refusing to take new Covid-19 vaccines, mainstream media have faced the delicate task of explaining why those considered the most competent would agree to be vaccinated.
The Los Angeles Times reported the numbers, suggesting that hospital staff – whom the media hailed as selfless heroes of the pandemic – may not have been so “In tune with scientific data” as public health officials might have expected. After highlighting the potential “Catastrophic” implications of surprisingly low acceptance of vaccines among healthcare workers, the newspaper found a familiar culprit: the Trump administration.
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“It’s certainly disappointing, but it’s not shocking, given what the federal administration has done over the past 10 months,” Sal Rosselli, president of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, told The Times. “Trust the science. It’s about science, reality, and what’s right. “
Hospital and nursing home workers have been given top priority to receive the first doses of the two Covid-19 vaccines that have received emergency use clearance in the United States – both to protect the most people exposed to the virus and to sell the general public the safety of getting the shots. But in Los Angeles County, up to 40% of frontline workers have been hesitant to get the vaccine. The numbers were even worse in some other areas, including 50% in Riverside County, according to the Times.
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Less than half of the eligible staff at St. Elizabeth’s Community Hospital in Tehama County have agreed to receive the vaccines. St. Elizabeth’s Red Bluff Community Hospital returned 200 of the 495 doses administered to it. A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 29% of healthcare workers “Hesitant vaccine”, exceeding the average of 27 percent of the population as a whole.
Alarm bells have been sounded. The Times tasked five journalists, including former Pulitzer Prize finalist Jack Dolan, to explain what was wrong. Their efforts to discredit workers or blame the Trump administration have not been entirely successful.
“Our Colleagues Don’t Fall Dead – Pure Risk-Benefit Assessment by Smart People” a Twitter user said. “Why would they take a vax?” Another said that “Deaf media” is blind to the truth that hospital workers who refuse the vaccine are, in fact, the most in step with science. Yet another watcher asked, “Doesn’t that say something about how people who see the disease every day feel about the risk and severity of the disease?”
Healthcare workers have been working against the virus for a year. Our colleagues do NOT fall dead. Pure risk / benefit assessment by smart people. Why would they take a vax?
– SaveOurRepublic???? (@TurnOffCNN) December 31, 2020
Deaf media blind to the fact that health workers who refuse the vaccine are “among those most in tune with the science behind vaccines.”
– Chris (@colsonslife) December 31, 2020
Doesn’t that say something about how people who view the disease on a daily basis feel the risk and severity of the disease?
– Tom Nevin (@tom_nevin) December 31, 2020
The Times quoted a 31-year-old nurse, April Lu, who made such a calculation. She said that because she was six months pregnant, she chose the known risks of being infected with Covid-19 over the unknown risks of being vaccinated.
Vaccine advocates have reacted angrily, with some saying hospital workers who refuse vaccines should be fired, or at least ultimately placed for treatment if they become infected with the virus. “I can’t believe this is happening” said an observer. “It must be a joke. How are people in the health sector but ignore the science? “
I think it’s okay if they keep working, but if they catch the covid and need to be administered in the hospital, they should be pushed to the back of the line so everyone in front can get the treatment they are getting. they need first ????????♂️
– Thomas Small (@TommySmallV) December 31, 2020
Author Alex Berenson said he was only shocked that The Times reported on reality. “Are all the publishers on vacation?” he joked.
sensational @latimes reports reality. Are all publishers on vacation? https://t.co/gsk1hxkPvh
– Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) December 31, 2020
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