Should vaccination for healthcare workers be mandatory?

Recent studies have reported high efficacy and safety for a number of COVID-19 vaccines for protection against severe disease. Healthcare workers, particularly those in patient-facing roles, are at highest risk of contracting infection due to SARS-CoV-2 virus, having severe outcomes and at risk of spreading the virus to patients and staff. Healthcare workers have been prioritised to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in many countries, including the UK.¹ However, recent reports have suggested low uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers in UK and the USA. A study from a large NHS Trust in England showed that overall uptake of the vaccine was only 64.5% among healthcare workers with a significantly lower uptake among ethnic minority populations with 58.5% of South Asians and 36.4% of Black individuals having the vaccine compared to 70.9% of White healthcare workers. In the USA, in view of high rates of infections and deaths in patients in institutionalised settings, residents and staff in long-term facilities have been prioritised for vaccination.² However, a recent study reported that among institutionalised facilities, 77.8% of residents were vaccinated but only 37.55% of staff were vaccinated. [Opening paragraph]