Infection preventionists cited the COVID-19 vaccines' quick market entry as the most common reason other healthcare workers have been hesitant to get vaccinated, according to a Feb. 10 survey from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
The survey is based on responses from 1,598 infection preventionists nationwide polled between Jan. 20 and Jan. 25. Of these respondents, 94 percent have been offered the vaccine.
A majority (85 percent) of infection preventionists said they've been vaccinated; 2 percent have a vaccine appointment scheduled; and 5 percent said they plan to get the vaccine later.
Seventy-two percent of infection control leaders cited the vaccine's speed to market as the main concern contributing to vaccine hesitancy among staff members at their organization. Other reasons included fear of adverse events (60 percent), use of new vaccine technology (50 percent) and a lack of concern about getting sick from COVID-19 (24 percent).
"Clearly, the nation's infection preventionists believe in the safety, effectiveness and necessity of COVID-19 vaccines," the association's President Ann Marie Pettis, RN, BSN, said in a news release. "As experts in infection prevention, IPs are in a unique position to influence and encourage vaccine uptake among other healthcare professionals and the public. If we think the vaccines are safe, we believe others should feel assured."