Vaccines for healthcare personnel: a core safety measure a position statement from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has listed vaccination as one the top 10 public health achievements,¹ and vaccines have led to a tremendous reduction in deaths due to vaccine-preventable disease in the United States alone.² There are over 22 million persons employed in healthcare in the United States, making healthcare personnel (HCP) an important population to target for vaccination efforts. Promoting vaccination for HCP as defined by the CDC is likely to become even more essential given the rising incidence in the United States of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and pertussis.³.