New Data Show Hard-Core Consequences of COVID Vaccine Hesitancy

The evening news is packed with feel-good stories on how many millions of Americans have been and continue to get vaccinated against COVID-19. And those stories are true—but they don’t paint the full picture. Too many Americans (including, anecdotally, healthcare workers) are skeptical of the vaccine or mistakenly believe that we’re on the cusp of herd immunity “so, what’s the point?” Here’s the point: According to modeling by the Imperial College of London’s COVID-19 Response Team, current levels of vaccine hesitancy in the United States could be directly responsible for thousands more deaths from COVID-19 than would be expected to occur among individuals who are not hesitant and those with whom they come in contact. As such, it’s incumbent upon urgent care providers to educate patients on the safety and efficacy data of the various vaccines—and certainly to administer the vaccine to individuals who qualify if you’ve got it, or get it down the road.