SHEA Issues Statement Advocating for Healthcare Personnel to Be Able to Receive COVID Vaccine

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) issued a statement explicitly offering support to healthcare personnel (HCP), especially pregnant HCP, to “choose to continue to be vaccinated against COVID-19.”

The statement reiterates the organization’s belief that “vaccines are [the] most effective and scientifically proven way to protect patients, staff, and visitors in the healthcare setting” from COVID-19, and the organization “promote[s] it as an effective intervention to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases in all healthcare settings.”

The statement also lists several broad benefits of a vaccinated workforce. They say that a vaccinated workforce “reduce[s] the risk of transmission within healthcare facilities among HCP and patients [and] all who enter healthcare facilities including patients, families, and visitors; maintain[s] a healthy workforce and support[s] HCP wellness; and maintain[s] the public’s trust in HCP and healthcare institutions.”

They also make sure to point out that “asymptomatic and presymptomatic patients may transmit SARS-CoV-2 before healthcare personnel are aware they are symptomatic,” underscoring the need for vaccination among HCP.

This statement comes in the wake of new guidance from the CDC removing routine COVID vaccination status for healthy children and pregnant women, as HPN previously reported.