Peoria Standard

Medical workers in Central Illinois are choosing to forego the COVID-19 vaccination, despite having priority access.

Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) said that 20-25% of staff at 15 hospitals have chosen not to be vaccinated against the virus, WAND 17 reported.

Marc Shelton, senior VP and chief clinical officer at HSHS, is concerned about the reasons that individuals are giving for opting out of the vaccine.

"There have been a lot of online myths that have swayed some people's minds and made them more concerned than I think is necessary," Shelton said, WAND reported.

The vaccination, which has been administered to tens of thousands of individuals, has been proven to be safe and keeps individuals from dying from COVID.

"The data is so fabulous that it is really in their best interest to go ahead and get vaccinated when feasible," Shelton said.

The reality is that healthcare workers who choose not to be vaccinated put themselves in an unnecessarily risky situation and also hinder their ability to help fight the virus.

"I do think there is an ongoing battle here, but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel," Shelton said. "If you go with projections by August, the end of September, we will hopefully get to the point where we have herd immunity."

Memorial Health Systems hospitals in central Illinois reported that 5,000 employees had been vaccinated.

A Kaiser Family Foundation study reported that 29% of healthcare workers were hesitant to receive the vaccine, a rate that is 2% higher than that of the general public.

Among the concerns voiced by participants in the Kaiser study were side effects, safety of the vaccination, politics and the role they played in vaccine development and beliefs that the virus itself was being overexaggerated in its danger.