A third of doctors in New York state refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19
'20.07.2021'
Nurgul Sultanova-Chetin
About a third of hospital staff in the Big Apple are still not vaccinated against COVID-19. This is evidenced by the official data of the state. And this is after more than nine months of a campaign to vaccinate healthcare workers and all New Yorkers. New York Post.
Figures compiled by the state's Department of Health show that nearly 40% of hospital staff in three out of five boroughs either refused or for some other reason did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
100 employees are not vaccinated
According to state statistics obtained before July 14, the vaccination rate among hospital workers was only 61% in the Bronx, 62% in Brooklyn and 64% in Staten Island.
Only two-thirds, or 67%, of Queens hospital staff have received COVID vaccinations.
Even in Manhattan, where there are many hospitals, only 76% of employees were vaccinated, in line with the state average. This means that one in four medical staff in Manhattan is still not vaccinated.
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New York State hospitals have approximately 2018 employees, according to a 450 SUNY study. This means that over 000 employees are not vaccinated.
There are no general state or city laws that require healthcare workers to vaccinate against viruses such as COVID, as they do for school children.
“It is unfortunate that so many health care workers are not vaccinated. It is important to protect yourself, protect your patients, and keep the health care system operational. They must set an example for everyone, ”said Richard Gottfried (Democrat from Manhattan), chairman of the State Assembly's health committee.
What Health + Hospitals says
Yale University Study Published Last Week, found that COVID vaccinations prevented 8 deaths and 300 hospitalizations in New York City in the first six months of 44.
The state health department did not provide a breakdown of vaccination rates by hospital. Health + Hospitals, which operates 11 public hospitals in the Big Apple, said the vaccination rate for its employees is nearly 60%. They do not impose mandatory vaccination requirements on employees.
“NYC Health + Hospitals continues to offer all of our employees access to vaccines at our hospitals and community clinics. Today, tens of thousands of our employees have been vaccinated, and this number will continue to grow as more and more employees begin to trust vaccines, ”said Health & Hospitals spokesman Christopher Miller.
“We are committed to ensuring that our courageous healthcare workers have access to vaccinations when they are ready to do so,” he added.
New York's Presbyterian Hospital System is the only one that has publicly stated that it requires staff to be vaccinated.
Multi-stage vaccination program
Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State Department of Health made vaccination of health care workers and workers in other key areas a priority in the fight against COVID-19, even before vaccinations began to be given to older residents.
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“New York State prioritized healthcare providers at the outset of our extensive and multi-phased COVID-19 vaccination program last year because it is critical for them to get vaccinated to protect themselves and the patients they care for. We continue to educate healthcare professionals and all New Yorkers to encourage them to get vaccinated as soon as possible, ”said Abigail Barker, spokeswoman for the state health department.
