Harnessing the nursing contribution to COVID‐19 mass vaccination programmes: Addressing hesitancy and promoting confidence

Abstract

Harnessing the nursing contribution to COVID-19 mass vaccination programmes: Addressing hesitancy and promoting confidenceThe need for a mass vaccination programme for COVID-19 is considered a pivotal public health strategy to reduce rates of infection, hospitalizations and deaths which have been so much a feature of the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic (DHSC, 2021). Vaccinating whole populations quickly is key to control the global spread of the disease, reduce and prevent the long-term effects of COVID-19, and limit the opportunity for mutations of the coronavirus to emerge (Bagcchi, 2021;Pagel, 2021).After the social restrictions in daily living and the economic upheaval experienced by people across the world, vaccines offer hope and the promise of better days to come, but this can only be fully realised if sufficient numbers of people across all sectors of the population take up the offer of a vaccine (DHSC, 2021;Schoch-Spana et al., 2020).Critical to the success of COVID-19 mass vaccination programmes is the nursing contribution (ICN, 2020). Nurses have for a long time been instrumental in the success of immunization programmes across the life cycle, through key engagement activities concerned with awareness raising, education, vaccine administration, prescribing, and policy development (Bajnok et al., 2018;RCN, 2021). The challenge this time, over and above the scale and urgency of the endeavour, is the need to promote vaccine confidence and acceptance against a background of misinformation and mistrust, arising in part due to the pervasive influence of social media combined with long standing distrust in public health measures in certain communities (Ashwell & Murray, 2020;Harrison & Wu, 2020;Schoch-Spana et al., 2020). Approaches which are broader than simply the administration of vaccines in vaccine clinics are required

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy January-May 2021 among 18–64 year old US adults by employment and occupation

“…They advise including management, human resources, employees and labor representatives, as appropriate, in the planning process, and using multiple strategies to promote and encourage participation in the vaccination clinics, e.g., encouraging managers and leaders to get vaccinated first. Just as celebrities have promoted vaccination to the public and Black health care workers have had success engaging Black communities ( Burden et al, 2021 ), workplace-focused campaigns could feature prominent and ordinary figures from specific workplaces or occupations discussing why they got vaccinated ( Yue et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published July 29, 2021 ), Vaccination ( Vaccination, 2021 ), Lopez-Villafana ( Lopez-Villafana, 2021 ), Burden et al ( Burden et al, 2021 ), Yue et al ( Yue et al, 2019 ), CDC. Worksite Health: Seasonal Influenza Vaccinations Using Interventions with On-Site, Free, Actively Promoted Vaccinations – Healthcare Workers.…”

Nursing and its Essential Role in the Vaccination against COVID-19: New Challenge in a Pandemic Scenario

“…The new challenge in this pandemic scenario is to face the need to promote trust and acceptance of the vaccines within a context of misinformation and mistrust, given that -as a consequence of the speed of the investigation and production of new vaccines, many people are not only skeptical about their safety if not totally resistant to the idea of getting vaccinated. Due to this, beyond the complex task of implementing vaccine administration plans in different places, doubts about vaccines should be addressed and promote trust in them (5) because sufficient evidence exists that the success of a vaccination program depends on its coverage to achieve herd immunity, but it is equally clear that indecision or uncertainty regarding the vaccines has the potential to undermine such programs. (6,7) It must be highlighted that the COVID-19 vaccine continues being the most effective medium to achieve control of the pandemic and, likewise, people not vaccinated continue being at substantial risk of infection, serious disease, and death, especially in areas with high levels of SARS-CoV-2 community transmission.…”

“…For such, primary and community care nurses must help in the promotion and acceptance of the vaccines through evidence-based interventions and assume a fundamental role in allowing adequate information to be transmitted and promoted in the adequate moment, in the adequate level, and in the adequate format. (5,6) In parallel and given the experience of the front-line nurses during the pandemic, they can communicate how the vaccine can mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 and, additionally, be an example for the population by getting vaccinated and to be able to model the behavior that others should adopt in the face of the possibility of contagion.…”

Nursing must respond for social justice in this ‘perfect storm’

“…In some contexts, this pandemic has placed nurses within the conflicting situation of being congratulated and depicted as selfless ‘angels’ while facing relentless pressure to work under extraordinarily pressured environments, to advocate for vaccination, and then be negated with cyberthreats and reputational criticism. Nurses have, for generations, been instrumental in the success of immunization programmes globally and for this pandemic, have been central to instilling trust in communities who are vaccine hesitant and winning ‘hearts and minds’, an essential element to successful vaccination programmes (Burden et al, 2021). Yet also visible is the disparity of availability of vaccines, the varying response of countries leaders and the suffering of populations who are struggling in this pandemic.…”