key: cord-0743392-9a94xwej
authors: Schrading, Walter A.; Trent, Stacy A.; Paxton, James H.; Rodriguez, Robert M.; Swanson, Morgan B.; Mohr, Nicholas M.; Talan, David A.
title: Vaccination rates and acceptance of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination among U.S. emergency department health care personnel
date: 2021-03-15
journal: Acad Emerg Med
DOI: 10.1111/acem.14236
sha: 84ab9e4ad15bd0a1f18123573c38707a529792b4
doc_id: 743392
cord_uid: 9a94xwej

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19 has infected more than 25 million Americans, leading to over 420,000 deaths.1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports over 378,000 cases of COVID-19 in US health care personnel (HCP) with 1,286 deaths.2 By summer 2020, an estimated 4.6% of academic emergency department (ED) HCP had contracted COVID-19.3 In mid-December 2020 Emergency Use Authorization COVID-19 vaccines were administered to US HCP as a priority group. The objective of this report is to describe differences in vaccination rates among various types of ED HCP at US academic medical centers and reasons for declining vaccination. We hypothesized that groups of ED HCP with differences in workplace risks might view the benefits of vaccine differently and that vaccine hesitancy would higher in people of color.

not previously diagnosed with COVID-19. The project's primary aim was to estimate the attributable risk of occupational acquisition of COVID-19 during a 20-week follow-up. At completion we surveyed participants regarding receipt of vaccines, feelings of personal safety after vaccination, personal protective equipment (PPE) use and, if applicable, reasons for declining vaccination. On January 4, 2021, approximately 3 weeks after vaccination began to be offered at all sites, we surveyed HCPs participating in the project. This project met the requirements of public health surveillance as defined in 45 CFR 46.102(l) (2) . Descriptive statistics and difference in proportions with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used, and standard errors were adjusted for clustering by site. Analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). In this report of COVID-19 vaccination rates among U.S. ED HCPs at academic U.S. medical centers at the beginning of prioritized HCP immunization, we found a high rate of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and receipt, with physicians/APPs having the highest overall proportion. After vaccination, most recipients reported feeling safer at home and that their household members also felt safer with them. The vast majority reported that their PPE use in the ED and in public remained the same after vaccination.

While our vaccine declination rate among ED HCPs was considerably lower than recent national reports of vaccine hesitancy among the public at large, 5, 6 we nevertheless found that a substantial percentage of ED HCPs declined vaccination. Since the primary reason for declining was concern over safety, efforts at educating HCPs about the safety profile of COVID-19 vaccines may be warranted, especially in groups who had the most vaccine hesitancy, that is, nonclinical, nursing, and Black HCPs.

The authors thank Anusha Krishnadasan, PhD, and Karisa K. Harland, PhD, MPH, for their tireless work to make Project COVERED a suc- 

COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). 2020

Diagnosed and undiagnosed COVID-19 in US emergency department healthcare personnel: a cross-sectional analysis

COVID-19 Evaluation of Risk in Emergency Departments (Project COVERED)

National trends in the US public's likelihood of getting a COVID-19 vaccine

Large majorities of the regions's nursing home workers have declined the coronavirus vaccine. The Washington Post

Project COVERED Emergency Department Network includes the following: Monica Bahamon