WELLINGTON, Fla. — Doctors at Wellington Regional Medical Center said Monday as more unvaccinated COVID-19 patients seek treatment, they are slowly changing minds about the vaccine.
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"Several patients that I do speak to that are unvaccinated did tell me themselves they do plan on getting the vaccine in the future,” Dr. Winta Affefaw said. "As of now, they are in an acute process, they do wish they had received it earlier."
Affefaw said the average stay in the hospital for unvaccinated COVID-19 cases varies from 10 to 20 days and often requires intensive care and intubation.
"The ones unvaccinated are having the worst outcomes overall," she said.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Larry Bush in Wellington said he is seeing a slight increase in vaccinations from people who have family or friends getting sick.
"People are stepping up and getting the vaccine, not the degree we need, but we're getting better," Bush said.
As the county's vaccination rate hovers around 67 percent, Bush said it is still not enough to bring an end to the pandemic.
"We're pretty far off I agree, and we need to get to the rest of them," Bush said.