Today, the American Nurses Association (ANA) along with 19 leading nursing and healthcare organizations are joining together to announce a new vaccine education campaign: COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses. The initiative will bring critical, current, and culturally sensitive COVID-19 vaccine information to the nation’s nurses on the frontlines of the pandemic and those caring for patients in every community across the country.
Since the first American – a critical care nurse in New York – received the vaccine, new survey data from the American Nurses Foundation of more than 22,000 nurses nationwide shows that while a majority (70%) of nurses have received the vaccine, barriers still exist. Among the 30% of nurses who reported that they have not received the vaccine, those who identify as Black or African American make up the largest percentage, 46%, of nurses who are not vaccinated. Of the 30% of nurses surveyed who have not been vaccinated, a quarter are undecided. Respondents’ reasons for not wanting to get the vaccine included being fearful of short- or long-term side effects (66%) and not having enough information about the vaccines (50%).
“Vaccination plays a large role in combating this pandemic, which is why we have come together to provide nurses with the information they need to educate themselves and counsel both patients and the communities they serve,” said ANA President Ernest J. Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN. “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.”
The COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses website provides nurses – the most trusted profession for 19 years in a row according to Gallup – and other healthcare professionals access to relevant, accurate and up-to-date information as well as expert perspectives about the safety, efficacy, and importance of COVID-19 vaccines. This includes:
* A Comprehensive List of Common Questions – Answers to questions about vaccine safety, development, distribution, side effects and more, from nursing experts and the medical and scientific communities, offered in a format that makes it easy to share on social media.
* Resources – Original and curated content from respected sources offers quick access to the information nurses need to increase their confidence in the vaccines and to address questions from their patients and communities.
As the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, the COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses website will be updated with additional resources to ensure nurses have a central and credible hub for vaccine-related information.
In addition, and as part of the campaign, collaborating organizations will host COVID in Color virtual events featuring a wide range of nursing leaders in honest and clear conversation about vaccines and questions from communities of color. The collaborating organizations will also conduct surveys to listen to nurses about what they need.
Collaborating with ANA on the campaign are:
* American Nurses Foundation
* American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN-Critical Care)
* American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN)
* American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL)
* American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)
* Asian American / Pacific Islander Nurses Association (AAPINA)
* Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)
* Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)
* Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
* Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc.
* National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA)
* National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP)
* National Association of School Nurses (NASN)
* National Black Nurses Association (NBNA)
* National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA)
* Nurses Who Vaccinate
* Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA)
* Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma)
* Transcultural Nursing Society (TNS)
ANA is grateful for the partnership and support of Johnson & Johnson for their sponsorship of the COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses campaign. The Company has a deep and long-standing commitment to supporting and advocating for the nursing profession.
