Florida: Health workers primed to receive COVID-19 vaccine, but not all hospitals will require it

Millions of health care workers and other essential workers are set to receive the coronavirus vaccine, but not all hospitals in Florida will require employees to get the shot. In fact, the nation’s leading nursing union argues it should be a person’s choice.

We spoke to some Southwest Florida professionals in the health care field Monday to see who is taking the vaccine.

“I’ve been dying to take it, so I can start like having a little bit of normalcy,” Dr. Luis Aponte said.

Aponte is an independent doctor who is privileged to work at all Lee Health hospitals.

“I think most of the medical team and everyone on the field are excited about the vaccine coming in,” Aponte said.

Both Lee Health and NCH Health System highly encourage staff members to take the vaccine, but they will not require it the same way they do with the flu vaccine.

Aponte told us he understands that.

“It’s tough to like force some people to do something they can, but if you don’t have the systems of all the population to be able to put this pandemic behind us, it’s going to be impossible,” Aponte said.

Dr. Rebekah Bernard, the president of Collier County Medical Society, is not in the first wave of health care workers to get the vaccine, but says she would take it right now.

Bernard also explained why hospitals can mandate flu shots for their employees.

“Other vaccines have been around for a long time and have a very strong safety record, so I agree with mandating vaccines that have a known safety track record,” Bernard said.

Meanwhile, Bernard feels people should weigh the pros and cons.

“When you’re confronted on that on a day-to-day basis and you’re seeing patients dying, I think that that resonates more, and it’s one of the reasons that a lot of my colleagues are interested in taking the vaccine even though it’s relatively new,” Bernard said.

Aponte says we’re also living in a new technological era.

“The technology nowadays compared to 10, 15, 30 years ago, it’s a different ballgame, so we do have the tools to make this vaccine safe,” Aponte said.

Within hospital, frontline workers in the ER and COVID-19 response units will get the chance to receive the vaccine first.

NCH told us, down the line, it could end up requiring its employees to get the vaccine the way it requires the flu shot.