Website provides a central and credible hub for vaccine-related details.
A vaccination education campaign—COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses—has been launched by the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), and 18 other leading nursing and healthcare organizations.
The campaign and its website provide accurate, up-to-date, and culturally sensitive COVID-19 vaccine information to nurses and other healthcare professionals, as well as expert perspectives about the safety, efficacy, and importance of vaccines.
New survey data from the American Nurses Foundation of more than 22,000 nurses nationwide shows that while 70% of the nurses surveyed have received the COVID-19 vaccine, hesitancy still exists.
Of the 30% of nurses surveyed who have not been vaccinated, nearly half (46%) identify as Black or African American. About one-fourth of surveyed nurses report they are undecided about receiving the vaccine, with reasons including being fearful of short- or long-term side effects and not having enough information about the vaccines.
"Vaccination plays a large role in combating this pandemic, which is why we have come together to provide nurses with the information they need to educate themselves and counsel both patients and the communities they serve," said ANA President Ernest J. Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN, in a press release.
"For nurses to be instrumental in administering COVID-19 vaccines, dispelling myths, and getting vaccinated themselves, we must ensure that—no matter where they work—they have scientifically sound and accessible answers to both their own and patients' questions," Grant said.
The Covid Vaccine Facts for Nurses website offers a list of common questions about vaccine safety, development, distribution, side effects, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and more, with answers from nursing experts and the medical and scientific communities. The information is offered in a user-friendly format that makes it easy to share on social media.
The website also provides original and curated content from reliable sources containing information nurses need to bolster their confidence in the vaccines and to address questions from their patients and communities, the ANA said.
As the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, the website will expand and update to ensure nurses have a central and credible hub for vaccine-related information.
As part of the new campaign, collaborating organizations will host COVID in Color virtual events, which will feature nursing leaders talking about vaccines and answering questions from communities of color, the ANA said. The collaborators will also survey nurses about what they need.
“For nurses to be instrumental in administering COVID-19 vaccines, dispelling myths, and getting vaccinated themselves, we must ensure that—no matter where they work—they have scientifically sound and accessible answers to both their own and patients' questions.”
ANA President Ernest J. Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN
Carol Davis is the Nursing Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The campaign offers expert perspectives about the safety, efficacy, and importance of vaccines.
Of more than 22,000 surveyed nurses nationwide, 30% have not been vaccinated, with nearly half (46%) identifying as Black or African American.
The campaign will host COVID in Color virtual events, with nurse leaders discussing vaccines and answering questions from communities of color.