With the rise of the Omicron variant that spread quickly through much of America earlier this year, hospitals in the area have been treating COVID-19 patients – many of whom were unvaccinated. However, it’s not just the patients who are part of the unvaccinated number within UPMC, but also some of the employees.

Within the UPMC facilities of Susquehanna, there has been a surprising percentage of unvaccinated employees. According to Dr. Rutul Dalal, a specialist of infectious diseases at UPMC, around 25 percent of UPMC’s employees have yet to be vaccinated, even though UPMC is one of the leaders of COVID research. The statistic surprised many, especially some UPMC employees who were vaccinated.

When asked about their thoughts and emotions towards employees refusing to be vaccinated, many vaccinated employees expressed their anger and frustration with unvaccinated employees. Some even described them as a health risk after the death of an employee shook the facility. 

Dr. Michael Akinyemi, an Interventional Radiologist at UPMC Williamsport, stated feeling angry about some employees being unvaccinated and felt they were not only putting their lives at risk, but his life and patients’ lives as well. 

Some like Chelsie Nolan, a registered nurse at UPMC Williamsport, feel conflicted about the issue. Nolan said she understands both sides even with being vaccinated. “I think the right thing to do working in a healthcare facility is vaccination,” Nolan said. “But I understand the hesitancy toward mandatory vaccination.”

Doctors Akinyemi and Dalal believe that some employees are reluctant to get vaccinated because of various conspiracies being shared through the media, through political discussions, and from the understandable fear of the unknown. 

Throughout this pandemic, many conspiracy theories and groups have risen, like Disinformed Dozen, that promote a lot of anti-vaccination content. Dalal feels that many want to put their health into their own hands and do what they feel is best. These ideas are usually created and fueled by these media outlets.

When thoughts about the mask mandate within the UPMC facility started to rise, many employees like hospitalist Ayoola Oladejo feel like the mandate is necessary. “The vaccine is the most important and strongest tool that we’ve gotten so far during this pandemic,” Oladejo said, stressing the necessity for all to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible. 

When employees who strongly agreed with the mandate were asked if the mandate was constitutional and fair, some like Akinyemi stated he would rather work in a hospital with everyone being vaccinated. Others like Nolan feel like the right thing to do when working in a healthcare facility is to get vaccinated, but understands some people’s hesitancy toward mandating and personal choice.

In Lycoming County, several anti-vaccination protests have taken place, sometimes even including some healthcare workers. One of the biggest protests that took place within the Lycoming County area was outside of the Danville Geisinger facility in the Fall of 2021. This protest took place after the vaccine mandate was passed across Geisinger facilities. Many protested, including a number of employees stating that they felt like their health decisions were being controlled.

Vaccine mandates have been a controversial issue, not even among the general population, but even in the healthcare profession. As mask mandates and guidelines are lifted in many institutions, professionals argue that the vaccine has played a part in allowing that to happen.

Although the pandemic is ceasing due to many factors, the division it has left in healthcare facilities, families, governments, and our society are permanent. From the conspiracies, to the protests, to trauma healthcare professionals have been through due to the media and false information that we as a society promote, the pandemic has left a scar that has impacted many — especially the younger generations of today. Even though we’d all like to hope a situation like this won’t happen, it could. The question is what will we do? 

Editor’s note: attempts to contact unvaccinated employees were not successful at the time of this article.