FEBRUARY 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 27
COVID-19 VACCINE
REFUSAL RATES SO FAR
BY BRIANA BONFIGLIO
Demand for the Covid-19 vaccine far
exceeds its current supply on Long Island.
Thousands of healthcare workers, essential
workers, and seniors 65 and older are
being vaccinated against coronavirus
every day, and thousands more are
trying to get what few appointments are
available, as New York State waits for the
federal government to ramp up vaccine
production.
But when there eventually is enough supply,
will enough people be willing to get
the vaccine? The answer is complicated.
“We all know this is going to take some
time, but eventually we’ll have more vaccines
than there is demand,” New York
State Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a press
conference on Jan. 25, “and we’ll be trying
to create that demand and overcome people’s
hesitations.”
To reach herd immunity and effectively
stop the public spread of coronavirus,
75 to 80 percent of the population would
need to be vaccinated, according to Dr.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases.
Reuters reported in mid-January that
26 percent of Americans said they will
not get the vaccine and 28 percent were
unsure, according to a YouGov poll. As
the country enters its second full month
of its vaccination efforts, it is only beginning
to see what the refusal rates are
really like.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that at New
York’s long-term care facilities, 16 percent
of residents and 32 percent of staff
declined the vaccine. In comparison,
Long Island’s nursing homes also saw
16 percent of residents refuse, while 46
percent of the staff refused — 14 percent
above the state average.
Long Island is also on the low end of its
percent of hospital workers vaccinated
in the state. It has vaccinated 61 percent
of its hospital workers, compared to 67
percent statewide. About 13.4 percent of
Long Island hospital workers declined the
vaccine.
Some government officials have predicted
that refusal rates among the general public
will be higher than they are among hospital
workers; other reports suspect that
online misinformation about the vaccine
could lead to people’s discomfort with it.
To have 80 percent of communities — and
the world — vaccinated, governments
and organizations will need to push public
information campaigns, which many
already have, such as Nassau County’s
“We Can Do It Nassau,” or Suffolk County’s
“Take Your Shot” initiative.
Arlene Ramirez, R.N., director, patient care, ED, Long Island Jewish Valley
Stream, receives the Moderna coronavirus disease vaccine at Northwell
Health's Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital on Dec. 21, 2020. (REUTERS/
Eduardo Munoz/Pool)
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