Kalamazoo Times

As the first doses of the vaccine to protect people from COVID-19 are delivered to states across the country including Michigan, some hospital employees are torn over whether to receive the inoculation. 

These workers are the first to have the option to receive the vaccination. They've been on the front lines of the pandemic, helping treat patients who've contracted the virus since March. The state of Michigan expects to receive enough doses of Pfizer's vaccine to inoculate 42,000 people initially. There are more than 600,000 health care workers throughout the state. 

Some are excited about the added protection the vaccine would give not only to themselves, but to their families and communities, too. An internal survey conducted by Sparrow Hospital in Lansing showed a majority of its employees were interested in receiving the potentially life-saving vaccination. 

Sparrow nurse Katie Pontifex told Bridge Michigan she initially had concerns about the vaccine, but after doing a "deep dive" on the information surrounding Pfizer's vaccine and the FDA approval with her husband, she feels much more confident in choosing to receive it.

"I will be one of the first to sign up to get it," Pontifex told Bridge Michigan.

However, not everyone is onboard with the idea. One nurse who asked to remain anonymous said she'd be declining the vaccine.

"It might cure COVID for now, but what are the side effects down the line?" the nurse who works for Henry Ford Health System said to Bridge Michigan. "But because it came out so fast, especially under the administration that we have, it's just not something that I trust."

The nurse said her employer hasn't mandated the vaccine yet, but she and other coworkers have voiced their concerns about it. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned through its "Vaccinate with Confidence" campaign that concerns about the vaccine from health care workers aren't good for the public's confidence about receiving it -- because once it becomes available to more people, health care workers will be the first ones patients will turn to with questions.