Can we know the immunization status of healthcare workers? Results of a feasibility study in hospital trusts, England, 2008

• Published in: Epidemiology and infection Vol. 138; no. 1; pp. 45 - 52
• Main Authors: PEZZOLI, L., NOAKES, K., GATES, P., BEGUM, F., PEBODY, R. G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01-01-2010
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Chicken pox; Computer software; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diphtheria; England; Epidemiology; Feasibility Studies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health care industry; Health Records, Personal; Hepatitis B; hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections; Hospitals; Humans; Immunization; Immunization - standards; Immunization Schedule; Influenza; Influenza vaccines; Measles; Medical personnel; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Mumps; Mycobacterium; occupation-related infections; Occupational Health; Patients; Personnel, Hospital - standards; Poliomyelitis; Prevention and actions; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Questionnaires; Rubella; Serology; Software; Specific populations (family, woman, child, elderly...); Staffing; surveillance system; Tetanus; Tuberculosis; Vaccination; vaccine-preventable diseases; Vaccines; England; United Kingdom; Great Britain; Europe; Western Europe; United Kingdom > UK; British Isles, England; occupation-related infections; vaccine-preventable diseases; hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections; Epidemiology; surveillance system; Human; Prevention; Immunoprophylaxis; Immunization; Vaccination; Health care staff; Hospital environment; Public health
• ISSN: 0950-2688; 1469-4409
• DOI: 10.1017/S0950268809002866

In England, there is no surveillance system for vaccines offered to healthcare workers apart from that in place annually for the seasonal influenza vaccine. To inform the feasibility of a general vaccine uptake surveillance system and to understand which policies are currently in place, we conducted a survey in the 162 National Health Service Foundation and Acute Hospital trusts in England, by submitting a questionnaire to their occupational health departments on immunization policies and methods of storing vaccine uptake data. In total, 104 hospital trusts (64·2%) responded. All responders offer hepatitis B, tuberculosis, measles-mumps-rubella, and influenza vaccines to healthcare workers; 0·9% reported not offering varicella and 13·5% not offering tetanus-diphtheria-polio; 66·4% record staff eligible for immunizations and 68·2% record staff they have immunized. Our study suggests that setting up a surveillance system to monitor vaccine uptake in healthcare workers is possible but would be challenging, given the variation in current systems.