Listen Live
New York Opens 14 Pop-Up Vaccination Sites Throughout State

Source: Spencer Platt / Getty

Despite being a front-line health care worker and witnessing firsthand the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, a majority of those administering vaccines aren’t getting the shot themselves.

According to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation in partnership with The Washington Post found 48% of those on the front lines are not vaccinated, which is alarming for some medical experts.

“It’s also a patient safety issue. If you get vaccinated, you’re much less likely to give COVID in the workplace,” said William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist with Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Schaffner understands the concerns health care workers have about getting vaccinated, but says when they don’t, it could increase transmission rates and also impact others’ decisions.

“If the nurses don’t get vaccinated and people ask them and they discover that the nurses are weary, of course, because nurses are trusted, the neighbors and friends will be weary of getting vaccinated also,” Schaffner said.

This news comes at a time when vaccination efforts continue to increase across the US. President Biden announced Thursday a new goal of 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed to American by May 1. As of Friday, 87.3 million people, which is 26.6 percent of the general population, received their first shot of either Pfizer or Moderna.