ANA Launches Nurse-Specific COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign
Nurses are a trusted resource for patient education and offer clarity during a crisis (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/the-public-trusts-nurses-voices-during-health-emergencies), whether it’s a cancer diagnosis or global pandemic. However, in a survey (https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2021/leading-nursing-organizations-partner-to-launch-covid-19-vaccine-information-campaign-for-nurses/) from the American Nurses Association (ANA), 30% of nurses said they have not received a COVID-19 vaccine, and a quarter of that percentage was still undecided about getting vaccinated. The two main reported reasons were fear of short- and long-term side effects (66%) and lack of information about the vaccines (50%). ANA’s new campaign educates nurses about those concerns.
COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses (https://covidvaccinefacts4nurses.org/) is a hub for critical and credible information that’s updated with additional resources as rollouts and increased eligibility (https://voice.ons.org/news-and-views/should-patients-with-cancer-receive-covid-19-vaccines-heres-what-oncology-nurses) take place. The website provides answers to frequently asked questions from nurses, multimedia resources, and guidance on navigating conversations with patients.
The largest percentage (46%) of nurses who hadn’t been vaccinated identified as Black or African American. As part of the campaign, collaborating organizations are hosting COVID in Color virtual events (https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2021/leading-nursing-organizations-partner-to-launch-covid-19-vaccine-information-campaign-for-nurses/) featuring honest and clear conversations with a wide range of nursing leaders about vaccines and questions from communities of color.
“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, said (https://nurse.org/articles/covid-vaccine-facts-nurses/).