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Association of State Laws With Influenza Vaccination of Hospital Personnel

Author/s: 
Lindley, Megan C., Mu, Yi, Hoss, Aila, Pepin, Dawn, Kalayil, Elizabeth J., van Santen, Katharina L., Edwards, Jonathan R., Pollock, Daniel A.

Introduction

Healthcare personnel influenza vaccination can reduce influenza illness and patient mortality. State laws are one tool promoting healthcare personnel influenza vaccination.

Methods

A 2016 legal assessment in 50 states and Washington DC identified (1) assessment laws: mandating hospitals assess healthcare personnel influenza vaccination status; (2) offer laws: mandating hospitals offer influenza vaccination to healthcare personnel; (3) ensure laws: mandating hospitals require healthcare personnel to demonstrate proof of influenza vaccination; and (4) surgical masking laws: mandating unvaccinated healthcare personnel to wear surgical masks during influenza season. Influenza vaccination was calculated using data reported in 2016 by short-stay acute care hospitals (n=4,370) to the National Healthcare Safety Network. Hierarchical linear modeling in 2018 examined associations between reported vaccination and assessment, offer, or ensure laws at the level of facilities nested within states, among employee and non-employee healthcare personnel and among employees only.

Results

Eighteen states had one or more healthcare personnel influenza vaccination-related laws. In the absence of any state laws, facility vaccination mandates were associated with an 11–12 percentage point increase in mean vaccination coverage (p<0.0001). Facility-level mandates were estimated to increase mean influenza vaccination coverage among all healthcare personnel by 4.2 percentage points in states with assessment laws, 6.6 percentage points in states with offer laws, and 3.1 percentage points in states with ensure laws. Results were similar in analyses restricted only to employees although percentage point increases were slightly larger.

Conclusions

State laws moderate the effect of facility-level vaccination mandates and may help increase healthcare personnel influenza vaccination coverage in facilities with or without vaccination requirements.

Keywords 
influenza healthcare personnel vaccination flu season

The MMR Vaccine Is Not Associated With Risk for Autism

Author/s: 
Hviid, A., Hansen J.V., Frisch, M., Melbye, M.

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Many parents choose not to vaccinate their children because of worry about autism, even though the 1998 study claiming to show that children who receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine were at increased risk for autism was fraudulent. Low MMR vaccination coverage has led to measles epidemics, which can be deadly. Unvaccinated people who develop measles can pass the infection to babies who have not yet been vaccinated. Many studies have shown no link between the MMR vaccine and autism, but a criticism has been that they did not specifically examine whether MMR vaccination could trigger autism in specific groups of susceptible children.

Keywords 
autism vaccines MMR vaccine

Countering Vaccine Hesitancy

Author/s: 
Edwards, Kathryn M., Hackell, Jesse M., The Committee on Infectious Diseases, The Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine

Immunizations have led to a significant decrease in rates of vaccine-preventable diseases and have made a significant impact on the health of children. However, some parents express concerns about vaccine safety and the necessity of vaccines. The concerns of parents range from hesitancy about some immunizations to refusal of all vaccines. This clinical report provides information about addressing parental concerns about vaccination.

Keywords 
vaccines vaccine hesitancy
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