On the first weekend of vaccines for health professionals and first responders in Tarrant County, the goal was to give 1,000 injections per day. But only about 700 people a day showed up.
The goal may have been optimistic, the rollout has just begun and the holiday weekend may be partly to blame, but the lower-than-expected turnout underscores what some may be reluctant to get a voluntary vaccine, considered by experts to be necessary to overcome the pandemic. to end.
At a makeshift vaccination clinic in a South Fort Worth county building Monday, Cmdr. Bryan Sudan of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office was one of those who turned up his sleeve.
“It’s a really easy decision,” he said. “Everyone’s been affected and if you aren’t, you will be.”
Sudan said his own brother is currently in hospital with COVID and that three of his colleagues in the sheriff’s office have died of the virus.
But for some, getting a chance isn’t such an easy decision.
Even in the medical field, some workers just don’t want it.
A survey of ambulance workers about a month ago found that only 60 to 65% said they would take the vaccine, Medstar’s Matt Zavadsky said.
Some are concerned that it has been approved too soon and may be dangerous or just ineffective, Zavadsky said.
“The good news is that as vaccine education has gotten better, more of our people have indicated that they want to be vaccinated,” he said. “It will never be 100%.”
Stephen Love, director of the North Texas Hospital Council, said that based on his discussions with hospital executives, he believes that about 70% of health workers plan to receive the vaccine.
But he said the percentage is much higher for doctors.
“99% of doctors want the vaccine,” said Love. “So if you look at the doctors, the trained scientists who accept the medical evidence, they all take the vaccine. You’ll always have people who are reluctant.”
Meanwhile, COVID patients continue to roll into hospitals in North Texas at an alarming rate, and more in Tarrant County than anywhere else in the region.
First responders in Fort Worth now process an average of 117 COVID-19 calls per day.
Only seriously ill patients are taken to hospital.
“It’s getting really tight,” said Love. “We are very concerned.”
And the models predict it will only get worse.
“And we haven’t even seen the Christmas peak yet,” Zavadsky added. “So we’re definitely concerned about the next two weeks.”
Back at the vaccination clinic, there was hope that if enough people get the vaccine, the solution is in sight.
“You have to trust the science and the science involved,” said Sudan.
* Map locations are approximate central locations for the city and are not intended to indicate where infected people actually live.
** The district totals below include all 32 North Texas counties, not just Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant.
Download our free NBC DFW mobile app for Apple and Android for the latest news and weather coverage.