I have promoted vaccination as a safe and effective intervention to protect people from disease and reduce the risk of the spread of infection. In a previous role as an infection control nurse I would spend time in the lead up to winter encouraging the uptake of the flu vaccination among nursing staff. However, I am a hypocrite, I have never had a flu vaccination. There are multiple factors which have influenced this, or are they excuses?
I do not like needles, I never have and will avoid them if I can. I have fainted during a blood test and have gone cold and clammy when having injections. Injecting others is not an issue for me; it would have been rather career limiting if it was! My mum made sure I had all my childhood vaccinations, including the BCG vaccination against tuberculosis at school. I welcomed the opportunity to miss lessons and mess about with my mates in the line outside the science lab where the nurse was eagerly waiting. However, watching them sterilise the needle on a bunsen burner and the subsequent arm punches to the injection site from peers were less welcome!
I have been eligible for a flu vaccination when working in patient facing roles but getting vaccinated wasn’t made easy. Vaccination was not offered in my workplace, and I would have to travel to another hospital some miles away in my own time where the occupational health team ran the vaccination clinics. When working in managerial roles there was always a debate whether I was eligible or not as I didn’t directly support patients. So, I never got vaccinated.
I am fortunate to be generally fit and healthy with no health problems. I have never had flu, but I doubt I have an innate superpower that protects me, I think I have just been lucky. I recently had an upper respiratory tract infection, some may refer to it as a ‘cold’, but as I am a dramatic patient and felt dreadful the word ‘cold’ did not adequately describe my suffering, nor that of those around me who had to endure my plight! I’m not very good at being ill.
I know vaccines are safe and effective and go through rigorous testing and licensing processes before they are used in the UK. I have never had any doubt that vaccines are brilliant things which save lives and prevent illness. I know they do not contain microchips and do not give you the disease they prevent. I have, as many of us will have, seen the consequences of people not being vaccinated.
The primary purpose of vaccination is to protect the recipient against the vaccine preventable disease. However, another purpose of vaccination is to protect others, which is one of the reasons why nursing staff are prioritised for vaccinations as we work with vulnerable groups, some of whom are unable to receive vaccines or have weakened immune systems. Not only have I been a hypocrite, but I also feel guilty that I may have previously put vulnerable people at risk by not being vaccinated.
There are many things that would have supported me to make better decisions around getting the flu vaccination. Making it accessible would have helped, I never wanted to spend my day off trekking across town. Also, being clear about who is eligible for vaccination, particularly for those who work in roles which are on the periphery of direct care. I was reluctant due to not liking needles; I wasn’t going to argue to have a flu vaccine. The brilliant nursing staff administering my COVID-19 vaccinations cured me of my extreme dislike of needles. They didn’t make me feel like I was weak and pathetic and were amazing with taking their time chatting to me, resulting in me not even realising I had been vaccinated! Nursing staff are very familiar and supportive of people like me who are anxious around needles.
Nursing is the most trusted profession, and our families, friends, colleagues and patients look to us to inform their health choices. While I have kept my previous vaccination status private, if I had made the effort and acted as a role model this may have influenced the decision of others. If we express doubt or apprehension around vaccines others will also. I think we have a responsibility to seek information and knowledge from trusted sources about vaccines regardless of whether we are involved directly in administering vaccinations, so we can have meaningful conversations about the topic.
Employers have legal responsibilities to assess the risk of nursing staff contracting vaccine-preventable diseases and mitigate this risk. Employers are required to offer vaccinations free of charge to employees where they have assessed they are required. The provides some guidance as to which vaccines nursing staff should be offered. There are other things employers can do to encourage vaccine uptake, such as providing time off for staff to get vaccinated and providing accurate information. The managed by Oxford University is a great source of evidence-based vaccine information. Having a healthy workforce is an obvious goal for an employer - vaccination is one tool in achieving this, along with reducing sickness absence from vaccine-preventable disease.
I am having the flu vaccination this year as I don’t want to risk being ill or making anyone else ill. I will be insisting on having a sticker saying how brave I am! Are you having yours?
For information: RCN position on vaccination
