Amid national vaccine push, health department nurses in one Kansas county hesitate
As health care leaders across the country encourage Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, nurses in one Kansas county health department say they won’t be giving the shots.
Residents of Coffey County will be able to get the shots, but the county will be contracting with someone else to give them.
None of the four nurses — including the public health administrator — feel “comfortable” administering a vaccine that has gone through a speedy testing process with new technology, said Lindsay Payer, the department administrator.
“It was all personal decisions,” Payer told The Star. “They expressed their concerns one by one. As we read the vaccine documents, it’s concerning.”
For example, she said the documents say “the extent of the risks and benefits of the vaccine are unknown.”
A spokeswoman with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the COVID-19 vaccine is based on years of research and has many safety components factored in.
“Vaccination of Kansans is critical to reach the end of this pandemic,” said Kristi Zears, a spokeswoman with KDHE, in response to an email from The Star about the vaccine and Coffey County nurses. “We are not aware of any other health departments who have expressed concerns regarding the vaccine and would point them to the safety data.”
Payer told Coffey County commissioners about the nurses’ decision earlier this month. She told them the health department was working hard to organize distribution once the vaccines arrived — which they did on Thursday — so they could be safely administered as soon as possible.
“We will find nurses willing to do that,” Payer said during the Jan. 4 meeting. “I am not, my staff is not, at this time.”
She further explained her decision to The Star: “I’ve worked hard for this nursing license. I have to make the decision that is best for my license and my conscience and I’m just choosing not to be a part of an experiment.”
Linda MowBray, president of the Kansas Health Care Association, a nursing home advocacy group, said geography often appears to be a factor when considering attitudes toward COVID-19 and vaccinations.
“I would suggest there are parts of the state that are definitely embracing the vaccine,” MowBray said. “But they also embrace social distancing, masks and what not. There are still parts of the state denying this is a crisis.”
She also knows that for some people “there is a lot of fear and hesitation.”
“Others are following the science, saying ‘Let’s do this. It’s going to save lives.’”
In November, Coffey County’s health officer resigned after the county commission voted to opt-out of the statewide mask mandate.
Early on in the pandemic, the county dealt with one of the state’s first major nursing home outbreaks. Life Care Center of Burlington has reported 36 total cases, including seven deaths, according to a spokesperson with Life Care Centers of America.
Safety concerns remain
On Friday, Surgo Ventures — a non-profit in Washington, D.C., dedicated to solving health and social problems — released a survey of 2,500 healthcare workers regarding attitudes toward the vaccine. In that survey, 53 percent of those who responded said they had been offered the vaccine.
And of those, 15 percent said they had refused to take it.
According to the survey results, the most cited reason for workers’ hesitancy was “a lack of evidence of the vaccines’ effectiveness and safety.” Personal safety concerns and worries that the approval process was rushed were also cited.
The results show that more has to be done to educate people about vaccines and safety, said Hannah Kemp, director of programs for Surgo, which conducted the survey December 17-30.
“... We need all healthcare professionals to set the right example in these early days, because we still have a lot of work to do to convince the rest of the country to take the COVID vaccine,” Kemp said. “In one way, 15 percent is absolutely too high given the dire need we have to get COVID under control. On the other hand, given the polls we have seen, it’s not entirely surprising that there’s this large percentage.”
Of the remaining 47 percent who responded to the survey — who hadn’t been offered the vaccine yet — about one-fifth said they were unlikely to get the vaccine.
One major goal of the survey was to not only find out how deep the hesitancy was with healthcare workers, but why individuals felt that way, said Bethany Hardy, director of communications for Surgo.
“We know that people are driven by different things,” Hardy said. “And you really try to drill down to get to the why behind what they do. ... Especially with healthcare workers, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. We want to get to the heart of why.”
The survey results also showed that healthcare workers in long-term care facilities were more hesitant about getting the coronavirus vaccine than those workers inside hospitals.
Celebrating vaccine day
Leaders of many long-term care facilities in Kansas are trying to send an encouraging message. Some have made vaccination day a “celebration,” said MowBray, of the Kansas Health Care Association. “They made it the light at the end of the tunnel.”
But still, some long-term care workers have declined to get the vaccine during the first clinic.
“The hope is that those who hesitated the first time and said no, they will come to change their mind when the second one comes around,” MowBray said. “The workers that hesitated will have someone to follow now.”
In Johnson County, the health department is seeing enthusiasm for the vaccine from employees.
“Our staff has been very cooperative, excited and efficient when it comes to giving the COVID-19 vaccination,” said Dr. Sanmi Areola, director of the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, in an email. “We have not had any employees express being uncomfortable with this task. It is the same for the public, as people are very willing to take the vaccine. We look forward to putting vaccines in as many arms as we can.”
Payer said that her decision was based on “too many unknowns” and “not at all political.”
“I see this really as a non issue,” Payer said of her and her staff’s decision. “The compromise has been made and the problem has been solved, though it’s not really a problem. This is something we typically do, we contract with nurses to help with things like this.
“I strongly feel that if people want this vaccine they should receive it. Absolutely. But just like it’s their choice to receive it or not, I feel like it should also be my choice to give it or not.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
