Tom Balcezak: a vaccine mandate might prompt “backlash.”
Yale New Haven Health is gearing up to vaccinate 29,000 healthcare workers for Covid-19 in the next two months, although the hospital system won’t be requiring its staff to participate.
YNHH CEO Marna Borgstrom, chief clinician Tom Balcezak, and Director of Infection Prevention Richard Martinello shared these plans at an online press conference on Monday afternoon.
The Federal Drug Administration is expected to approve the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday, Balcezak said. The Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines could be approved shortly afterwards.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have similar technologies, and need to be stored at “ultra-cold” temperatures, according to Balcezak. The AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored at ordinary refrigerator temperatures, making it easier to distribute to lower-tech facilities.
Balcezak said that while he’s “agnostic” about which vaccine would be ideal to receive, Yale New Haven Health anticipates being assigned the Pfizer vaccine for distribution.
Healthcare workers are at the front of the line to receive the vaccine per Connecticut’s distribution system. Yale New Haven Health officials said they have calculated 29,000 hospital staff and students come into contact with patients. They would qualify for the vaccine.
The Pfizer vaccine has to be administered in two doses, 21 days apart. The plan, Balcezak explained, is to vaccinate all 29,000 individuals within three weeks so that the system can smoothly transition to second doses on time. That would entail vaccinating 7,800 healthcare workers per week in late December and in January.
That plan hinges on the hope that the initial vaccine supply will permit this scale of distribution, Balcezak added. The health system has not yet been guaranteed to receive 29,000 vaccines.
Richard Martinello urged caution when it comes to indoor dining.
While the hospital system is planning for all 29,000 eligible healthcare workers to have access to a Covid vaccine, Yale New Haven Health won’t, as of now, require staff to get vaccinated.
“I think by pushing too hard in mandating right now, it’s possible that we would have a backlash and more resistance than if we were to go forward” and allow people a choice, Balcezak explained.
“It’s always best if we can be in a position to explain why it is we want our staff and patients to be vaccinated and to do that on a voluntary basis,” said Martinello. He added that the health system might revisit the notion of a mandate if there is a substantial lack of interest in the vaccine among healthcare workers despite evidence of its benefits.
A Post-Thanksgiving Uptick?
Marna Borgstrom: “What we need is relief.”
Covid-19 hospitalizations had plateaued for much of the week. Then the number of Covid-19 inpatients has increased over the past two days.
“We are very concerned because of all the travel that occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Martinello.
The health system is currently treating 457 inpatients diagnosed with Covid-19 across its Connecticut and Rhode Island hospitals — nearly 50 more patients since the previous week.
Yale New Haven Hospital is treating 239 of those inpatients, while 132 are at the health system’s Bridgeport hospital, 41 are at Greenwich, 32 are at Lawrence + Memorial, and 13 are at Westerly.
The health system is currently prepared with adequate personal protective equipment and bed space, Borgstrom said. Yale New Haven Hospital has capacity for over 1,500 inpatients.
While capacity isn’t an issue, “what we need is relief,” Borgstrom said. Hospital staff are getting tired. “We either need more staff — and you can’t create staff overnight — or we need fewer patients,” she said.
The hospital officials urged the public to maximize caution in the next few weeks so as to keep hospitalizations low.
They stressed the importance of minimizing travel and family gatherings during the holiday season, as well as the general necessity of mask-wearing, hand hygiene, and social distancing.
In addition, while customers are still permitted to eat inside Connecticut restaurants, Martinello urged caution when it comes to indoor dining. He cited a Korea-based study that demonstrated Covid spread between restaurant diners from across the room, seated over 21 feet apart from one another.