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Fears Prompt Some Medical Workers to Balk at Getting the Vaccine

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  • Concerns about side effects, speed of approval dissuade them
  • In one Chicago hospital, 40% of staff say they won’t take it
A health-care worker receives the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the Michigan Medicine facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Dec. 16.
A health-care worker receives the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the Michigan Medicine facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Dec. 16. Photographer: Emily Welcoming/Bloomberg

Some nurses and emergency-response workers have expressed reluctance to take the new coronavirus vaccine, a reflection of unease that U.S. officials hope to overcome as they ramp up the nationwide immunization effort.

For months, surveys showed widespread skepticism about the vaccine after the Trump administration’s push to get it out before the November election. Public-health authorities say people’s concerns have eased since then, but this week’s launch of vaccinations made it clear that some health-care workers and first responders remain unwilling to get the shot.