[Vaccination status of family physicians in the Loire district, France]

Evaluation of vaccination status of health care workers for recommended vaccines and their acceptance of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

Introduction

Health care workers (HCWs) are disproportionately exposed to infectious diseases and play a role in nosocomial transmission, making them a key demographic for vaccination. HCW vaccination rates are not optimal in many countries; hence, compulsory vaccination policies have been implemented in some countries. Although these policies are effective and necessary under certain conditions, resolving HCWs’ hesitancies and misconceptions about vaccines is crucial. HCWs have the advantage of direct contact with patients; hence, they can respond to safety concerns, explain the benefits of vaccination, and counter antivaccine campaigns that escalate during pandemics, as has been observed with COVID-19.

Method

A short survey was carried out in May–June 2020 on the vaccination status of HCWs working with pediatric patients with COVID-19. The survey inquired about their vaccination status (mumps/measles/rubella [MMR], varicella, influenza, and diphtheria/tetanus [dT]) and willingness to receive hypothetical future COVID-19 vaccines. The respondents were grouped according to gender, age, occupation, and region.

Results

In total, 4927 HCWs responded to the survey. Most were young, healthy adults. The overall vaccination rates were 57.8% for dT in the past 10 years, 44.5% for MMR, 33.2% for varicella, and 13.5% for influenza. Vaccination rates were the highest among physicians. The majority of HCWs (81%) stated that they would be willing to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

Conclusion

Although vaccination rates for well-established vaccines were low, a majority of HCWs were willing to receive COVID-19 vaccines when available. Education and administrative trust should be enhanced to increase vaccination rates among HCWs.

Immunization Status against Measles of Health-Care Workers Operating at Three Sicilian University Hospitals: An Observational Study

Measles is a highly contagious vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) that also commonly affects health-care workers (HCWs). Measles immunization of HCWs was strongly recommended by international health authorities, in order to limit the spreading of the illness to susceptible patients and colleagues. An observational study, evaluating the immunization and vaccination status against measles of HCWs working at three Sicilian university hospitals, was conducted. All subjects not completely immune (vaccinated with only one dose in their lifetime), not immune (not vaccinated or not naturally immunized), and with an unknown immunization status were considered not immunized. Among HCWs operating in the three Sicilian university hospitals, 54.6% were not immune against measles. The average age of not immune HCWs was 51.3 (SD ± 9.8), ranging between 25 and 71 years old. In particular, 46.9% of HCWs not immunized worked in “at-risk” hospital units, based on medical conditions of patients which increases the probability of contracting an infection. Vaccination coverage rates observed against measles are considerably lower than other European countries and inadequate. It is therefore crucial to tackle vaccine hesitancy among HCWs, promoting strategies targeted to evaluate immunization status against VPDs and to significantly increase vaccine coverages, such as tailored training and vaccination offer or compulsory vaccination programs.

Assessment of the factors influencing primary care physicians' approach to vaccination of adult risk groups in Istanbul, Turkey

Background

We aimed to assess the factors influencing primary care physicians’ (PCPs) approach to adult vaccination in specific risk groups and evaluate the compliance to adult immunization guidelines.

Methods

This cross-sectional study performed between January 2016 and April 2016 in İstanbul, Turkey. A questionnaire designed to obtain physicians’ demographical data, experience, immunization status, and attitude on prescribing or recommending vaccines for adults in the risk group. Healthy individuals older than 65 and patients suffer from chronic diseases or had splenectomy before are considered as a risk group. The questionnaire was sent via email to a randomly selected group of 1,500 PCPs. The data of 221 physicians who responded emails were recorded for statistical analysis.

Results

Of the 221 participants (123 women, 98 men), the majority were aged 31–40 years. Their vaccination rates were 74.2% for hepatitis B, 54.3% for seasonal influenza, and 47.1% for tetanus. Among participants, the highest recommendation and prescription rate of adult vaccines was recorded in PCPs aged 31–40 years. In addition, PCPs with <10 years occupational experience were found to prescribe adult vaccines more frequently than PCPs with longer occupational experience.

Conclusions

Primary care physicians with lower age and relatively less experience are more intent to prescribe adult vaccines to patients that are in risk groups. This result may be due to increased awareness of adult immunization among PCPs who had more recent medical training. However, many other factors could have caused this difference, including physicians’ approach to primary medical care.

Vaccination status of resident pediatricians and the potential risk for their patients - a cross-sectional questionnaire study in pediatric practices in Vienna

Background

Pediatricians are advised by the Austrian ministry of health to be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcus ACWY and meningococcus B, pneumococcus and seasonal influenza. As they take care of a vulnerable patient group including newborns and infants, who have not been vaccinated yet, it is important that they have a positive immunization status in order to protect their patients. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the vaccination status of pediatricians and their assistants in practices in Vienna.

Methods

All 196 resident pediatricians in Vienna were invited to participate in this cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. They had to specify their sex, medical profession, self-reported vaccination status for the respective vaccine preventable diseases and the type of practice they are working in (private versus government funded practice).

Results

High vaccination rates above 90% were found for measles, poliomyelitis, pertussis and hepatitis B, whereas seasonal influenza, meningococcus and pneumococcus were the least accepted vaccinations in this cohort. No significant differences were observed for male and female vaccination habits. Influenza and pneumococcus vaccines were more frequently received by pediatricians than their assistants. Health care workers (HCW) of private practices had significantly lower hepatitis B vaccination rates compared to those working in practices covered by the Vienna health insurance fund.

Conclusion

Resident pediatricians in Vienna reveal rather high vaccination rates for some but not all of the recommended immunizations, which puts their pediatric patients at risk. Measures for higher vaccination rates are needed especially for this medical professional group.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12887-019-1529-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of general practitioners/family physicians toward their own vaccination: A systematic review

CONTEXT

General practitioners and family physicians (GP/FPs) play a key role in the vaccination of the public in many countries and serve as role models for their patients through their own health behaviors.

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS

a) To search for and document recommended/mandated vaccines for GP/FPs in high-income countries; b) To systematically search and review the literature on these physicians' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (KABB) toward their own vaccination with the recommended/mandated vaccines and the factors determining it.

RESULTS

a) The 14 countries included recommended or mandated as many as 12 vaccines; b) The systematic review identified 11 studies published in the last 10 y. All considered seasonal influenza vaccination but differed in the variables investigated.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS

This review highlights the need for further studies on this topic, including qualitative and interventional studies (based on behavior change theories). These should cover occupational vaccines and determinants known to be associated with vaccine hesitancy.