About 30 percent of U.S. hospital staff – nearly one in three – remain unvaccinated against Covid-19, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who analyzed data from 2,086 hospitals.
The study, the most comprehensive of its kind to date, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, covers data up to September this year. It shows that the vaccination of health workers in hospitals increased from 36% to 60% between January-April 2021, but then slowed down significantly, reaching 70% in September, but now seems to have encountered a “wall of reluctance”.
Vaccination rates are higher in children’s hospitals (77%), as well as in those located in large cities and metropolitan areas (71%), compared to those in the suburbs and the periphery (63% to 65%).
“Significant extra efforts are now needed to improve vaccination coverage for healthcare professionals and reduce the risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to patients and other healthcare professionals,” said lead researcher Dr Hanna Rezes of the CDC.
The experts noted that “hospital health professionals play a crucial role in influencing the vaccination campaign in the wider community and are also at greater risk of both becoming infected and transmitting Covid-19 into their work environment. The findings show that mandatory “Vaccinations can help increase vaccination coverage among health professionals in order to better protect public health.”
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