Vaccination policies for healthcare personnel: Current challenges and future perspectives

Abstract

Healthcare personnel (HCP) are at occupational risk for acquisition of several vaccine-preventable diseases and transmission to patients. Vaccinations of HCP are justified to confer them immunity but also to protect susceptible patients and healthcare services from outbreaks, HCP absenteeism and presenteeism. Mandatory vaccination policies for HCP are increasingly adopted and achieve high and sustainable vaccination rates in short term. In this article we review the scientific evidence for HCP vaccination. We also address issues pertaining to vaccination policies for HCP and present the challenges of implementation of mandatory versus voluntary vaccination policies. Finally, we discuss the issue of mandatory vaccination of HCP against COVID-19.

Keywords: CI, confidence interval; COVID-19; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; HCP, healthcare personnel; Healthcare personnel; ICU, intensive care unit; ILI, influenza-like illness; Immunization; MMR, measles-mumps-rubella; Mandatory; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; Occupational; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; Policies; RR, relative risk; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; US, United States; VE, vaccine effectiveness; VPD, vaccine-preventable disease; Vaccination; Vaccine-preventable diseases; WHO, World Health Organization.