Health care workers concerned about financial barriers associated with COVID-19 vaccine

 

While the majority of health care workers are willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, they're also concerned about the financial barriers associated with it.

A recent study from Services Employees International Union (SIEU) Healthcare found that 81 per cent of frontline health care workers said they would be willing to receive a vaccine if personal financial barriers were eliminated.

“As the government plans to ramp up vaccine roll-out, it’s important that their plan eliminate all barriers to vaccination for frontline healthcare workers. That’s why we’re calling on Premier Ford’s government to provide financial support for those health care workers who lack paid sick leave and are anxious about missing work because of potential side effects from the vaccine,” Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare, said in a news release.

Additionally, according to the findings, 64 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about losing paid work hours in order to take the vaccine, as well as potential lost wages resulting from adverse vaccine side effects.

Further, 68 per cent said they would be more likely to get the vaccine if all costs related to the vaccine were guaranteed, including paid time to get the vaccine, guaranteed paid sick leave in the event of adverse side effects, and compensation for parking or transit.

“It’s also critical that workers be compensated for the time and cost to travel to off-site vaccination centres, like those at Orangeville’s Headwaters Health Care Centre who must travel over an hour to get the vaccine in Brampton," Stewart continued.