Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, and Ohioans are seemingly craving more knowledge as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.
In a recent survey, background check company IProspectCheck found that more than half of Ohio residents — 55% — think that it should be mandatory for workers to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status to their employers. That just shy of the national average of 57% in agreement.
In Ohio, 50.88% of residents have gotten at least one dose of an authorized vaccine, while 47.05% are fully vaccinated as of Aug. 19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a fully vaccinated person is one who is two weeks past their second dose of a two-dose vaccine series (Pfizer and Moderna) or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson).
Kentucky is a very different story. In the Commonwealth, only 39% of survey respondents think that disclosing their vaccination status should be mandatory. That’s slightly more than Louisiana, the least-enthusiastic state at 31%.
Massachusetts and Hawaii lead the nation in wanting to disclose vaccination statuses at the office, with 79% of each of those states wanting to be open. That seems to align with the care that these states have taken during the pandemic, with 70% of Massachusetts residents and 69.5% of Hawaii residents receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Aug. 19, according to state health records.
IProspectCheck’s survey also focused on consequences. Nationally, 55% of respondents think that daily COVID-19 tests should be a precaution at work. Moreover, 42% said that they’d want to take legal action if their employer did not have adequate coronavirus protocols and protections in place.
And if someone lies about getting vaxed? Well, 16% said they would want that employee to be fired, while 14% would be satisfied with a suspension.
For its data, IProspectCheck asked questions of 3,000 people during a July Google survey. Read the full survey results to see how each state feels about vaccination disclosure.
The survey comes as Ohio and Kentucky both are seeing sharp, sustained upticks in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, largely due to the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus. Scientists warn that this strain is much more dangerous than the original virus. People infected with Delta carry 1,000 times more of the virus, which makes it easier to transmit among others when speaking, singing, sneezing or breathing hard, particularly within indoor areas like work settings. Health experts say that Delta is more than twice as easy to spread as the first strain.
Unvaccinated individuals are at the highest risk for severe infection and substantial health issues from coronavirus, experts say, though some vaccinated individuals have also become infected due to Delta’s highly contagious nature. Event venues in Greater Cincinnati recently have added new vaccination requirements and safety protocols to help slow the spread of the virus.
Local and state health officials say that the sharp increase of COVID-19 cases in the region is a major concern. In Kentucky, there were 15,754 new COVID-19 cases reported in the last week, a 60% increase over the previous week. Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner for the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said on Aug. 17 that the state expects to hit its all-time high for ICU admissions this week — a big problem with Kentucky experiencing severe healthcare staff shortages.
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This article appears in Aug 18-31, 2021.