26 May Most Health Care Personnel Not Getting Tdap Vaccination
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Anup Srivastav, DVM, MPVM, PhD
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta GA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Healthcare personnel (HCP) are at risk for being exposed to pertussis (whooping cough) and spreading the disease to patients in their work settings. CDC recommends tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination for healthcare personnel to reduce their risk of getting the disease and spreading it to patients. This is the first report of Tdap vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel by occupational setting.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Response: While Tdap vaccination increased among healthcare personnel from 2012 (35 percent) to 2014 (42 percent), coverage remained low. Vaccination coverage varied by occupational setting.
By occupational setting, the Tdap vaccination coverage was lowest among healthcare personnel working in long-term care settings and highest among among healthcare personnel working in hospitals, similar to patterns in influenza vaccination among healthcare personnel.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: Most healthcare personnel are not receiving a Tdap vaccination, which leaves them vulnerable to getting pertussis and spreading it to their patients. Comprehensive strategies by healthcare facilities are needed to increase overall vaccination coverage. Strategies that have been effective at increasing influenza vaccination among healthcare personnel may also be effective at increasing Tdap vaccination among healthcare personnel.
Some of these strategies include targeting intervention in areas where vaccination uptake is low; increasing awareness about potential effects of vaccination on the overall health of healthcare personnel, their patients, and their families along with the benefits of vaccination in reducing spread of vaccine-preventable disease; providing vaccines at the workplace free or at reduced costs; and offering vaccines onsite or offsite, in clinics, or at multiple locations
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: Little research has been done on strategies, aside from vaccination mandates, for increasing uptake of Tdap vaccination among healthcare personnel. Future research should focus on workplace interventions, such as onsite vaccination and employer promotion of vaccine, effective in increasing Tdap vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel, especially those working in non-hospital settings.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: It is especially important for healthcare personnel who have contact with infants to be up to date with Tdap, due to increased risk of severe disease in very young infants. We also encourage healthcare personnel to ensure their pregnant patients get a Tdap vaccine during each pregnancy to pass protective antibodies to their babies before they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Tdap Vaccination Among Healthcare Personnel, Internet Panel Survey, 2012–2014
Srivastav, Anup et al.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine , Volume 0 , Issue 0
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.04.002
Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.
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Last Updated on May 26, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD