Construction workers were among some of the first groups to qualify for COVID-19 vaccinations in most states but have been hesitant to get the shots, according to www.constructiondive.com. As a result, construction companies that want their workers to be vaccinated face challenges.
Vaccination hesitancy increasingly is a concern for public health officials, such as University of Pittsburgh Associate Professor of Epidemiology Wendy C. King, who sees such hesitancy as a key barrier to ending the pandemic. King and a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University are trying to understand what is causing the hesitation so they can help the health care community target interventions and address workers’ concerns.
Workers are telling pollsters they do not trust the vaccine, and misinformation continues online. Amelia Jamison, a faculty research assistant at the Maryland Center for Health Equity, said people mistakenly believe the process of getting the vaccines to market was accelerated in a way that makes it unsafe. In addition, about a third of unvaccinated adults are concerned they might have to pay for the shots, which are free to everyone. Some workers are hesitant because they or someone close to them had mild cases of COVID-19 and recovered.
Politics also has played a part; a Gallup poll in February found 91% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans were willing to get the shot.
“For good or bad, right or wrong, the vaccine has been politicized,” NRCA CEO Reid Ribble told Construction Dive. “We’re so regionally and politically divided. I would be willing to bet the number of construction and roofing workers being vaccinated lines up pretty closely with how progressive or conservative their states are. In rural, conservative states like Alabama, you’ll have pretty low rates, and in Massachusetts, New York and California, it will be pretty high. Because it’s also cultural, isn’t it? And when you have this blend of culture and politics, it becomes very complicated.”
Most U.S. companies are encouraging vaccinations because they believe they are crucial to economic recovery, but as they attempt to establish vaccination policies, they are struggling with all these factors, as well as confusing messaging from the government regarding vaccine incentives and recording adverse reactions to the vaccine.
