Eimear Kitt1,2, Sharon Burt3, Susan M Price3, Lauren Satchell4, Paul A Offit1,2,5, Julia S Sammons1,2,4, Susan E Coffin1,2,4,6. 1. Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 2. Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 3. Department of Occupational Health, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 4. Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 5. Vaccine Education Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 6. Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Influenza vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs) has been recommended for more than 30 years. In 2009, HCWs were designated as a priority group by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Current HCW vaccination rates are 78% across all settings and reach approximately 92% among those employed in hospital settings. Over the last decade, it has become clear that mandatory vaccine policies result in maximal rates of HCW immunization. METHODS: In this observational 10-year study, we describe the implementation of a mandatory influenza vaccination policy in a dedicated quaternary pediatric hospital setting by a multidisciplinary team. We analyzed 10 years of available data from deidentified occupational health records from 2009-2010 through the 2018-2019 influenza seasons. Descriptive statistics were performed using Stata v15 and Excel. RESULTS: Sustained increases in HCW immunization rates above 99% were observed in the 10 years postimplementation, in addition to a reduction in exemption requests and healthcare-associated influenza. In the year of implementation, 145 (1.6%) HCWs were placed on temporary suspension for failure to receive the vaccine without documentation of an exemption, with 9 (0.06%) subsequently being terminated. Since then, between 0 and 3 HCWs are terminated yearly for failure to receive the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of our mandatory influenza vaccination program succeeded in successfully increasing the proportion of immunized HCWs at a quaternary care children's hospital, reducing annual exemption requests with a small number of terminations secondary to vaccine refusal. Temporal trends suggest a positive impact on the safety of our patients.
BACKGROUND: Influenza vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs) has been recommended for more than 30 years. In 2009, HCWs were designated as a priority group by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Current HCW vaccination rates are 78% across all settings and reach approximately 92% among those employed in hospital settings. Over the last decade, it has become clear that mandatory vaccine policies result in maximal rates of HCW immunization. METHODS: In this observational 10-year study, we describe the implementation of a mandatory influenza vaccination policy in a dedicated quaternary pediatric hospital setting by a multidisciplinary team. We analyzed 10 years of available data from deidentified occupational health records from 2009-2010 through the 2018-2019 influenza seasons. Descriptive statistics were performed using Stata v15 and Excel. RESULTS: Sustained increases in HCW immunization rates above 99% were observed in the 10 years postimplementation, in addition to a reduction in exemption requests and healthcare-associated influenza. In the year of implementation, 145 (1.6%) HCWs were placed on temporary suspension for failure to receive the vaccine without documentation of an exemption, with 9 (0.06%) subsequently being terminated. Since then, between 0 and 3 HCWs are terminated yearly for failure to receive the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of our mandatory influenza vaccination program succeeded in successfully increasing the proportion of immunized HCWs at a quaternary care children's hospital, reducing annual exemption requests with a small number of terminations secondary to vaccine refusal. Temporal trends suggest a positive impact on the safety of our patients.
Authors: Karleen F Giannitrapani; Cati Brown-Johnson; Natalie B Connell; Elizabeth M Yano; Sara J Singer; Susan N Giannitrapani; Wendy Thanassi; Karl A Lorenz Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2022-03-08 Impact factor: 6.473
Authors: G A Willis; L Bloomfield; M Berry; C Bulsara; M Bulsara; G Chaney; H Cooke; J Maticevic; K Russell; M Zic; D B Mak Journal: Vaccine Date: 2022-08-22 Impact factor: 4.169