The American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) joins with more than 50 major health care professional organizations and societies in calling for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for all health care workers.
Throughout the pandemic, ambulatory care nurses were always present and available, providing information, education, recommendations, and direction in a time of misinformation, anxiety, and fear, navigating chaos to ensure the health and safety of patients. When vaccines became available, nurses were asked to organize mass vaccination campaigns in ball parks, stadiums, and parking lots.
As the summer rolls on, the death and loss caused by the pandemic continues unabated. COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to more than 160 million individuals in the United States, and to hundreds of millions around the world. Vaccines are safe and effective, limit viral transmission, and improve patient and public health.
“Ensuring our healthcare workers are using all infection prevention resources available to protect themselves and all patients is crucial in slowing the spread of COVID-19,” said Kathleen Martinez, President of AAACN. “Nurses are critical in this effort and must lead with our actions as well as our words.”
“Vaccination is the primary way to put the pandemic behind us and avoid the return of stringent public health measures,” the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, and the 55 other groups, including AAACN, wrote in the joint statement.
According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), a co-signor on the joint statement, in a survey of over 4,500 nurses conducted by the COVID-19 Facts For Nurses Campaign between April 12 and May 4, 83% of nurses reported that they had received the recommended dose regimen of two COVID-19 vaccine shots.