Nurses are a critical group to get on board with taking and recommending COVID-19 vaccines.
They're already the number one trusted worker by Americans, according to a new Gallup poll. And they’re seen to have the highest honesty and ethics values.
“What I am advocating or stressing is that nurses need to know exactly how the mRNA vaccines work,” said Dr. Ernest Grant, President of the American Nurses Association (ANA). “You know, because they're going to be needed to help persuade the public that they need to take the vaccine as well.”
Grant isn't just asking nurses to be vaccine advocates. He’s one himself. He took part in the modern vaccine trial.
Grant says he believes he got the vaccine, not the placebo, because of the fatigue he felt after the second shot.
He says vaccines come at a time that will not only save lives, but also keep more nurses from leaving the profession due to burnout and stress.
“It’s tough to go to work to work 12 hours or 16 hour shifts a day and have, you know, maybe a death every other hour or so,” said Grant.
Nurses are also losing their lives. About 400 in the U.S. have died as a result of providing care for COVID-19 patients, according to the ANA.