Editors note: This article was updated to reflect that the doctors did not stage a walk out to protest treatment for unvaccinated patients.
A group of 75 doctors held a news conference Monday morning to promote COVID-19 vaccinations in their communities.
The doctors in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, said they want people to recognize the value of vaccines and ignore misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of the shots. Florida’s ICU units are reportedly at 85% capacity, and the state is experiencing a surge of 21% in cases and 28% in hospitalizations in the last 14 days.
MSNBC initially reported that the doctors were walking out, some from their active shifts, to “protest” treating high numbers of unvaccinated patients. However, the doctors say the press conference was not a protest and did not result in any doctors missing time on the job. It was simply an event to encourage more people to get vaccinated, they said.
Florida doctors protest fatigue from the coronavirus surge. @KerryNBC reports. pic.twitter.com/TwL2NO5Ay9
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) August 23, 2021
“It’s incredibly frustrating, because we know vaccines are safe and effective,” said emergency room doctor JT Snarski in an interview with “Morning Joe” Monday morning. “Vaccines are safe, and we need to get our communities vaccinated.”
72% of Floridians aged 12 and over have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the state’s vaccination rate has more than doubled in the last month.
A growing number of doctors are expressing frustration with hospitals being filled with unvaccinated patients. One Alabama doctor announced last week he would no longer see unvaccinated patients at his practice beginning in October. (RELATED: It Turns Out Those Plastic Barriers Put Up To Stop COVID-19 May Actually Make It Easier To Spread)
The overwhelming majority of COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the country are unvaccinated.