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Immunization: How Nurses Can Help Save Lives During A Pandemic

Nurse holding a syringe with Covid-19 vaccines

Vaccine aversion is a significant barrier to the extinction of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. Skepticism and vaccine hesitancy has been recorded with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available for emergency use. Nurses are in a unique position to enhance COVID-19 vaccination adoption due to their position as the nation's most trusted professionals and their vital role in the care of COVID-19 victims. Nurses are still vital in executing immunization campaigns and protecting public safety.

Nurses' Role in Pandemic and Other Outbreaks
Throughout the early twentieth century, public health nurses in eastern cities performed house calls and began staffing immunization clinics. Many people were saved from diseases such as polio and tuberculosis, the latter of which was the leading cause of death in the United States in 1900. Nurses also saved many lives during the 1918 influenza pandemic and the 2009 H1N1 epidemic by giving vaccines at public immunization clinics.

Communication And Patient Education
Nurses play an important role in patient care, therefore it's not unusual that they would also provide immunization information and counseling. Nursing practitioners must stay updated on immunization news, safety issues, and vaccination data from reliable sources. Communication is critical in patient care to ensure knowledge, alleviate fear, and support compliance.

Nurses communicate and care to the public, ultimately leading to personal and parental health care decisions. Nurses can educate patients on vaccine efficacy and safety. Nurses can help save lives by being updated about the importance and method of needed vaccines. As a result, communication, and thus public awareness, is possibly the most important function nurses perform in vaccination.

Follow-up Care
Nurses are also in charge of supervising everything related to the vaccination procedure once it has been administered. They are responsible for post-vaccination monitoring, which includes recognizing and managing any physical or emotional reactions to immunizations. This can also include providing medical care to individuals with underlying health concerns, collecting vaccination data, and maintaining patient records.

Nurses work on the front lines of vaccination.
As part of their job, nurses, particularly registered nurses (RNs) and nurse practitioners (NPs), often administer immunizations. They also provide evidence-based information to patients regarding vaccination safety, potential side effects, and the significance of immunization. Nurses administer all vaccines in several countries.

Nurses frequently bridge the gap between patients and doctors. Due to a lack of primary care doctors in rural regions, communities may turn to nurses for immunization advice and administration. School nurses are particularly important in educating students and families about vaccine requirements, and certain healthcare groups s advocate for school-based vaccination programs.

Nurses can use what is known about effective vaccine uptake tactics to develop interventions and outreach campaigns in their own areas. Who better than a trustworthy nurse with the authority, knowledge, and ability to go out to a community and deliver the COVID-19 vaccination uptake message? They spend a significant amount of time counseling patients, parents, families, and the general public about the benefits, hazards, and safety of vaccines, as well as providing them. Despite the public's possible reluctance and reticence to accept any vaccine (e.g., flu and measles vaccine), healthcare providers (HCP), particularly nurses, remain the most trusted advisor and influencers of vaccination decisions.

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Photo Source: Free Stock photos by Vecteezy
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