A Houston hospital is using a $500 incentive to convince it’s 26,000 employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The bonus serves as a token of gratitude administered by Dr. Marc Boom, the current president and CEO of Houston Methodist, which runs a hospital conglomerate consisting of a total of eight hospitals.
Houston Methodist’s chief innovation officer, Roberta Schwartz, claims that about half of the hospital’s staff has already signed up for the vaccination. Hospital executive staff are hoping that the move will convince U.S. citizens to trust and take the vaccine. But, that feat won’t be easily conquered until the residue of cynicism created early on at the cusp of the pandemic is wiped away.
Dispersal of the COVID-19 virus around the globe was similar to something out of a Hollywood film. The way decision-makers waffled with critical, time sensitive decisions not only convinced a segment of the American population that the pandemic was part of a conspiratorial “scam,” but it also put so many lives in danger and manifested a whopping 300,000-plus death toll with grandparents and those with pre-existing conditions dying from “COVID-19 complications.” It’s contradictory, but it’s also a testament to the current limbo of the “Divided States.”
The mishandling of the pandemic by leaders in politics, public health, healthcare and security is the cause of the current distrust of claims that a rushed vaccine will safely protect those who retrieve it.
Instead, most people feel like the vaccine is a massive clinical study that could eventually be coerced on the general public by mandatory orders that will heavily influence job opportunities, academic progression, and medical treatment.
So, the question stands — is $500 enough for you to take the vaccine?
