Resistance to vaccination high in Sonoma Valley

Nearly one in four recently polled North Bay residents admit to being skeptical of, or resistant to, being vaccinated against COVID-19.|

Vaccine hesitancy in health care workers, residents

Sonoma County Department of Health is currently engaged in its own survey of vaccine hesitancy, focused on the residents and staff of local skilled nursing and residential care facilities. So far, the survey shows significantly greater acceptance of vaccination than in the public at large.

87% of responders were vaccinated; 4 % planned to get vaccinated; and 9 % either were not sure or do not plan to get vaccinated.

The survey showed that 95 % of residents of these health care facilities have been full vaccinated, and 85% of staff. Those results vary by facility, however: in 15% of facilities, over 30% of staff declined vaccination.

Most trusted sources of information about vaccinations were doctors, pharmacists, the scientific community, the state website and family.

Least trusted were social media, political figures, online news, TV news and print news.

Complete coronavirus and vaccination information at socoemergency.org.

Nearly one in four recently polled North Bay residents admit to being skeptical of, or resistant to, being vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report recently released by the Bay Area Council, which engaged EMC Research to conduct the survey.

Twenty-three percent of poll respondents in Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Solano counties described themselves as “vaccine hesitant,” indicating that they are not yet vaccinated and probably or definitely will not get the Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Medical experts fear that vaccine hesitancy or resistance may interfere with Sonoma County’s progress toward herd immunity, a threshold that was predicted to occur when 75-80 percent of the population was immunized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

But with coronavirus mutations spreading rapidly, those same experts have now begun to amend their math, predicting that something closer to 85 percent of the population will need immunity by way of vaccine or previous COVID-19 infection to reach a tipping point in the pandemic.

‘I consider food my medication. I hike every day, eat organic and vegan, drink ginger tea and think positive thoughts.’ Nada Rothbart

For some, the vaccines that resulted from the federal effort dubbed Operation Warp Speed are simply too new to trust. “Not enough trials yet,” Jenn Blackwood told the Index-Tribune. “Way too many unknowns.”

Others are all-in on the conspiracy theories swarming social media. “God only knows what their master plan is for everyone,” Eddie Adam of Boyes Hot Springs said. “Maybe they just want to sell many shots, or the vaccine starts to make people ill in a few months. (Bill) Gates is a big eugenics guy!”

Some of the participants in the recent poll fear potential side effects of the rapidly developed vaccines (12 percent), and others reject vaccines on principle (12 percent).

But the largest number of respondents claimed to either be unconcerned about the virus (19 percent) or convinced that a healthy lifestyle will mitigate its effects (14 percent). The complete survey is online at bayareacouncil.org/press-releases.

Nada Rothbart, 64, lives by the wellness principles of the Greek medical philosopher Hippocrates. “I consider food my medication,” she said. “I hike every day, eat organic and vegan, drink ginger tea and think positive thoughts.”

Nada Rothbart, who trusts her immune system and healthy living to keep her safe from Covid-19, in her Sonoma home on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. (Photo by Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune)
Nada Rothbart, who trusts her immune system and healthy living to keep her safe from Covid-19, in her Sonoma home on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. (Photo by Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune)

Rothbart, who played professional basketball in Europe and ran a Bikram yoga studio in Sonoma before transitioning to real estate sales a few years ago, separates herself firmly from the outer fringes of the anti-vax movement. “I’m not weird. I’m not rebelling. I didn’t go to any big gatherings and I wear a mask and social distance,” she said. “But I believe if you eat healthy food, rest, exercise and keep your mind positive you’ll be fine. I’ve lived healthy my entire life.”

Rothbart’s individuation seems harmless enough until juxtaposed against the larger social constructs of the pandemic, detractors say.

“The virus can only mutate if it has hosts, so refusal to vaccinate could possibly have dire consequences for the rest of us,” said James Fleming of El Verano.

“It’d be nice if all Americans who believe in science would get the vaccine to create stronger immunity so we can get back to some form of normalcy,” Sonoma resident Tom Donahue added.

Normal, for Rothbart, includes international travel. Her grandchildren live in Israel with Rothbart’s son and his wife, but with the highest vaccination rate of any country on Earth, Israel is currently closed to travelers. If the Israeli government eventually requires vaccination as a condition for entry, Rothbart says she is prepared to submit. “If I can’t get into the airplane, I’ll take the vaccine. I want to be part of society,” she said.

While vaccination is not yet a condition for social inclusion, the idea of vaccine passports has been proffered by the Biden administration. According to the Washington Post, a growing number of companies are now saying they will require proof of vaccination before reopening for business, including the San Francisco Giants, who recently announced that only vaccinated individuals will be welcomed back to Oracle Park.

At Sonoma Valley Hospital, vaccination is not a requirement to receiving medical care, according to the director of community and marketing, Celia Kruse de la Rosa. But hospital staff have embraced the vaccine, with the vast majority of them now protected. “To date, 88 percent of staff and 95 percent of our medical staff has received a vaccine,” Kruse de la Rosa told the Index-Tribune, adding that unvaccinated employees are tested on a regular basis. “The 12 percent unvaccinated is a combination of employees on leave, employees waiting to schedule their appointments, or declinations.”

In Sonoma County, where 29,000 people have been infected with coronavirus so far and 308 of them have died, 46 percent of the adult population have received at least one dose of the vaccine. In conversation with the Press Democrat last week, Dr. Umila Shende, the county’s vaccine manager, said that Sonoma County is close to completing its own survey on vaccine reluctance, which promises to be “very comprehensive” and will “give us more detailed information.”

But Anja Rivkins of Creekside Village feels that vaccine resistance is simply impossible to understand. “Could you imagine if previous generations refused the smallpox or diphtheria vaxes? If our parents hadn’t gotten us vaxed against polio when we were kids?” she said. “Honestly, I don’t know where this anti-science backlash is coming from. It’s baffling.”

Michelle Cleaver, who lives at the north end of the Valley, agrees. “I am curious,” she said. “How many who watched a family member die from the virus are hesitant to take the vax? Anyone?”

Contact Kate Williams at kate.williams@sonomanews.com.

Vaccine hesitancy in health care workers, residents

Sonoma County Department of Health is currently engaged in its own survey of vaccine hesitancy, focused on the residents and staff of local skilled nursing and residential care facilities. So far, the survey shows significantly greater acceptance of vaccination than in the public at large.

87% of responders were vaccinated; 4 % planned to get vaccinated; and 9 % either were not sure or do not plan to get vaccinated.

The survey showed that 95 % of residents of these health care facilities have been full vaccinated, and 85% of staff. Those results vary by facility, however: in 15% of facilities, over 30% of staff declined vaccination.

Most trusted sources of information about vaccinations were doctors, pharmacists, the scientific community, the state website and family.

Least trusted were social media, political figures, online news, TV news and print news.

Complete coronavirus and vaccination information at socoemergency.org.

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