Hospital Employee Health – May 1, 2021
May 1, 2021
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Vaccinated HCWs Can Be Trusted Voice to Communities, Colleagues
Healthcare workers (HCWs) immunized against COVID-19 can be trusted voices to instill vaccine confidence in their colleagues and communities, public health officials and clinicians emphasize. Role-modeling of immunization also might encourage HCWs who are reluctant to take a vaccine. In a recent poll of 1,327 HCWs, 27% said they do not plan to take a COVID-19 vaccine, or have not yet decided. Breaking down the results, 17% of the HCWs polled do not plan to take the vaccine, and 10% were undecided.
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OSHA Steps in to Protect Healthcare Workers from COVID-19
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a National Emphasis Program to ensure employees in high-hazard industries like healthcare are protected from contracting SARS-CoV-2. But a somewhat controversial problem is that researchers are finding most of the COVID-19 infections in healthcare workers are acquired in the community.
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Good News for Pregnant Healthcare Workers
Pregnant healthcare workers face a personal choice to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, although emerging evidence suggests contracting the virus outweighs the risk of immunization. The CDC recommends lactating women can be vaccinated. However, the effects of the vaccines on pregnancy are unknown, though emerging trends look good.
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Needlestick Risks at COVID-19 Vaccination Sites
Needlesticks are threatening to move beyond the hospital in a big way. With a variety of people with various skill sets administering COVID-19 vaccines — sometimes in unusual situations — there is understandable concern about sharps injuries at immunization sites. As COVID-19 vaccine guidelines expand to more age groups and populations, occupational health experts are reminding HCWs that needlesticks could lead to transmission of bloodborne pathogens.
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Social Media Fuels COVID-19 Vaccine Fear
To fight the proliferation of vaccine misinformation and disinformation spreading on social media, public health agencies and academic partners have created a vaccine misinformation field guide outlining how to respond to the misinformation that is undermining uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines.