Vaccination of healthcare personnel in Europe: Update to current policies

We investigated and compared current national vaccination policies for health-care personnel (HCP) in Europe with results from our previous survey. Data from 36 European countries were collected using the same methodology as in 2011. National policies for HCP immunization were in place in all countr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Vaccine Vol. 37; no. 52; pp. 7576 - 7584
Main Authors:	Maltezou, Helena C., Botelho-Nevers, Elisabeth, Brantsæter, Arne B., Carlsson, Rose-Marie, Heininger, Ulrich, Hübschen, Judith M., Josefsdottir, Kamilla S., Kassianos, George, Kyncl, Jan, Ledda, Caterina, Medić, Snežana, Nitsch-Osuch, Aneta, de Lejarazu, Raul Ortiz, Theodoridou, Maria, Van Damme, Pierre, van Essen, Gerrit A., Wicker, Sabine, Wiedermann, Ursula, Poland, Gregory A., Bino, Silvia, Filipova, Radosveta, Draženović, Vladimir, Koliou, Maria, Fabianova, Katerina, Heilmann Jensen, Lise, Filippova, Irina, Elonsalo, Ulpu, Molnár, Zsuzsanna, Sigridur Josefsdottir, Kamilla, Sisson, Lynda, Perevoscikovs, Jurijs, Savrasova, Larisa, Caplinskas, Saulius, Berthet, Françoise, Hübschen, Judith M, Borg, Michael, Cirstea, Olga, Essen, Gerrit A. van, Graça, Silva, Falup-Pecurariu, Oana, Mikheeva, Irina, Kollárová, Dagmar, Mrvic, Tatjana, de Lejarazu, Raúl Ortiz, Roth, Adam, Chernyshova, Liudmyla, Lapiy, Fedir
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 10-12-2019 Elsevier Limited
Subjects:	Diphtheria Epidemics Europe Fatalities Health care Health care facilities Health facilities Healthcare personnel Hematology Hepatitis Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Immunization Infectious diseases Influenza Measles Medical laboratories Medical personnel Mumps Occupational Patients Pediatrics Personnel Pertussis Policies Poliomyelitis Polls & surveys Public health Rubella Tetanus Tuberculosis Vaccination Vaccines Varicella Whooping cough Portugal Russia Malta Latvia Austria Netherlands Ireland Poland Slovakia Serbia France Lithuania Croatia Romania Europe Moldova Albania Czech Republic Belgium Norway Finland Denmark Italy Germany Estonia Occupational Policies Vaccination Europe Healthcare personnel
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Summary:	We investigated and compared current national vaccination policies for health-care personnel (HCP) in Europe with results from our previous survey. Data from 36 European countries were collected using the same methodology as in 2011. National policies for HCP immunization were in place in all countries. There were significant differences in terms of number of vaccinations, target HCP and healthcare settings, and implementation regulations (recommended or mandatory vaccinations). Vaccination policies against hepatitis B and seasonal influenza were present in 35 countries each. Policies for vaccination of HCP against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella existed in 28, 24, 25 and 19 countries, respectively; and against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and poliomyelitis in 21, 20, 19, and 18 countries, respectively. Recommendations for hepatitis A immunization existed in 17 countries, and against meningococcus B, meningococcus C, meningococcus A, C, W, Y, and tuberculosis in 10, 8, 17, and 7 countries, respectively. Mandatory vaccination policies were found in 13 countries and were a pre-requisite for employment in ten. Comparing the vaccination programs of the 30 European countries that participated in the 2011 survey, we found that more countries had national vaccination policies against measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis A, diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, pertussis, meningococcus C and/or meningococcus A, C, W, Y; and more of these implemented mandatory vaccination policies for HCP. In conclusion, European countries now have more comprehensive national vaccination programs for HCP, however there are still gaps. Given the recent large outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in Europe and the occupational risk for HCP, vaccination policies need to be expanded and strengthened in several European countries. Overall, vaccination policies for HCP in Europe should be periodically re-evaluated in order to provide optimal protection against vaccine-preventable diseases and infection control within healthcare facilities for HCP and patients.
ISSN:	0264-410X 1873-2518
DOI:	10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.09.061