What’s Needling EMS this week?
Operation Warp Speed – boldly going where no mass inoculation has gone before
To better understand EMS agency vaccination mandates and provider practices, and how these might impact COVID-19 vaccination amongst frontline personnel, we surveyed EMS providers, supervisors and chiefs. More than 500 responses have provided insights into EMS vaccination policies, practices and perceptions. Read the results and weigh in: will you be vaccinated?
So far in the pandemic, EMS has been ever-present on the front lines and has been the utility player that has bailed out and propped up other areas of the healthcare spectrum. We have not only responded, but tested, tracked, evacuated, augmented and deployed. In addition to COVID-19, we have provided mutual aid in large numbers to parts of the country that have suffered both tempest and inferno. With a few months to run in 2020, we are all checking our bingo cards to identify what could be next! The answer is vaccinations – both giving and receiving.
It is reasonable to assume that EMS and its competent and qualified workforce will soon feature in the national effort to vaccinate a population of 320 million people. Given the emerging detail on the research and trials, we may well be part of the plan to deliver 640 million doses as the inoculation regimen may require a two-part dose over a few weeks. Vaccinations are about to become a “thing,” as we work out if we are to be a part of the delivery plan for our locality, district or state. Secondly, and more of a challenge for every chief, is ensuring their workforce is protected and immunized with a jab that according to sources, only 50% currently want. Let’s break it down further.