tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Vaccine
. 2022 Aug 2;S0264-410X(22)00942-2.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.07.045. Online ahead of print.
COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Arkansas public K-12 school teachers and staff
Michael J Cima[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Donald McCormick[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Austin Porter 3rd[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Namvar Zohoori[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Scott Alsbrook[SUP] 2 [/SUP], José R Romero[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
In December 2020, the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To strategically allocate the limited availability of COVID-19 vaccines, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) developed a phased approach for eligibility that prioritized certain population groups that were more vulnerable to infection and severe outcomes. Public K-12 teachers and staff were included in Phase 1b. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) sought to evaluate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines within this priority group. In partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), ADH received a list of 66,076 certified staff, classified staff, and teachers within the public K-12 school system. This list was matched to the state immunization registry via deterministic methods across three identifiers: first name, last name and date of birth. Uptake was assessed and the population was characterized using descriptive analyses. After 13 weeks of availability, 34,783 (51.2 %) of public K-12 teachers and staff had received at least one dose and 29,870 (44.0 %) had completed the series. School districts with the least robust uptake of COVID-19 vaccines tended to be in more rural areas, with some districts having less than 10 % of teachers and staff with at least one dose. The proportion of public K-12 teachers and staff with at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine grew quickly between January 18th and February 14th (4 % to 43 %) but has plateaued in the most recent seven weeks (45 % to 51 %). Although not directly measured, it is possible that vaccine hesitancy could be a factor in the attenuated uptake of COVID-19 vaccines within certain factions of the Arkansas public K-12 teacher and staff population. Overcoming vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout will be critical in bringing an end to the pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19; K-12; Vaccine; Vaccine hesitancy.
. 2022 Aug 2;S0264-410X(22)00942-2.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.07.045. Online ahead of print.
COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Arkansas public K-12 school teachers and staff
Michael J Cima[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Donald McCormick[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Austin Porter 3rd[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Namvar Zohoori[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Scott Alsbrook[SUP] 2 [/SUP], José R Romero[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35965240
- DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.07.045
Abstract
In December 2020, the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To strategically allocate the limited availability of COVID-19 vaccines, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) developed a phased approach for eligibility that prioritized certain population groups that were more vulnerable to infection and severe outcomes. Public K-12 teachers and staff were included in Phase 1b. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) sought to evaluate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines within this priority group. In partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), ADH received a list of 66,076 certified staff, classified staff, and teachers within the public K-12 school system. This list was matched to the state immunization registry via deterministic methods across three identifiers: first name, last name and date of birth. Uptake was assessed and the population was characterized using descriptive analyses. After 13 weeks of availability, 34,783 (51.2 %) of public K-12 teachers and staff had received at least one dose and 29,870 (44.0 %) had completed the series. School districts with the least robust uptake of COVID-19 vaccines tended to be in more rural areas, with some districts having less than 10 % of teachers and staff with at least one dose. The proportion of public K-12 teachers and staff with at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine grew quickly between January 18th and February 14th (4 % to 43 %) but has plateaued in the most recent seven weeks (45 % to 51 %). Although not directly measured, it is possible that vaccine hesitancy could be a factor in the attenuated uptake of COVID-19 vaccines within certain factions of the Arkansas public K-12 teacher and staff population. Overcoming vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout will be critical in bringing an end to the pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19; K-12; Vaccine; Vaccine hesitancy.