Introduction Vaccination has greatly reduced the burden of infectious diseases Only clean water, also considered to be a basic human right, performs better (1) Paradoxically, a vociferous antivaccine lobby thrives today in spite of the undeniable success of vaccination programmes against formerly fearsome diseases that are now rare in developed countries (2) Understandably, vaccine safety gets more public attention than vaccination effectiveness, but independent experts and WHO have shown that vaccines are far safer than therapeutic medicines (2,3) Modern research has spurred the development of less reactogenic products, such as acellular pertussis vaccines and rabies vaccines produced in cell culture Today, vaccines have an excellent safety record and most "vaccine scares" have been shown to be false alarms (4,5) Misguided safety concerns in some countries have led to a fall in vaccination coverage, causing the re-emergence of pertussis and measles (6) Putative vaccine safety issues are commonly reported while reviews of vaccine benefits are few A Medline search over the past five years using the keywords "vaccine risks" scored approximately five times as many hits (2655 versus 557) as a Medline search using "vaccine benefits" as keywords (7) This reflects the fact that negative aspects of vaccination get much more publicity than positive aspects How one addresses the antivaccine movement has been a problem since the time of Jenner The best way in the long term is to refute wrong allegations at the earliest opportunity by providing scientifically valid data This is easier said than done, because the adversary in this game plays according to rules that are not generally those of science This issue will not be further addressed in this paper, which aims to show how vaccines are valuable to both individuals and societies, to present validated facts, and to help redress adverse perceptions Without doubt, vaccines are among the most efficient tools for promoting individual and public health and deserve better press (8) Disease control benefits Eradication Unless an environmental reservoir exists, an eradicated pathogen cannot reemerge, unless accidentally or malevolently reintroduced by humans, allowing vaccination or other preventive measures to be discontinued While eradication may be an ideal goal for an immunization programme, to date only smallpox has been eradicated, allowing discontinuation of routine smallpox immunization globally Potentially, other infectious diseases with no extrahuman reservoir can be eradicated provided an effective vaccine and specific diagnostic tests are available Eradication requires high levels of population immunity in all regions of the world over a prolonged period with adequate surveillance in place (9) The next disease targeted for eradication is polio, which is still a global challenge (10) Although high coverage with oral polio vaccine (OPV) has eliminated type 2 poliovirus globally, transmission of types 1 and 3 continues in limited areas in a few countries OPV-caused paralytic disease, directly or by reversion to virulence, and persistent vaccine-virus excretion in immunodeficient individuals are problems yet to be solved Global use of monovalent type 1 and type 30PV and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) may eventually be required (10) Elimination Diseases can be eliminated locally without global eradication of the causative microorganism In four of six WHO regions, substantial progress has been made in measles elimination; transmission no longer occurs indigenously and importation does not result in sustained spread of the virus (11) Key to this achievement is more than 95% population immunity through a two-dose vaccination regimen Combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine could also eliminate and eventually eradicate rubella and mumps (11) Increasing measles immunization levels in Africa, where coverage averaged only 67% in 2004, is essential for eradication of this disease …

Vaccination Greatly Reduces Disease, Disability, Death and Inequity worldwide/La Vaccination Reduit Fortement la Morbidite, Les Incapacites, la Mortalite et Les Inegalites Dans L'ensemble Du monde/La Vacunacion Reduce Considerablemente la Morbilidad, Las Discapacidades, la Mortalidad Y Las Inequidades En Todo El Mundo

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/8/4/686/pdf

Attitudes and Perception of Healthcare Workers Concerning Influenza Vaccination during the 2019/2020 Season: A Survey of Sicilian University Hospitals

Attitudes and Beliefs on Influenza Vaccination during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from a Representative Italian Survey.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/8/2/248/pdf

Knowledge and Attitude towards Vaccination among Healthcare Workers: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in a Southern Italian Region.

Seroconversion in patients with cancer and oncology health care workers infected by SARS-CoV-2.

IntroductionIn recent years, a phenomenon known as "vaccine hesitancy" has spread throughout the world, even among health workers, determining a reduction in vaccination coverage (VC). A study aimed at evaluating VC among healthcare workers (HCWs) in 10 Italian cities (L'Aquila, Genoa, Milan, Palermo, Sassari, Catanzaro, Ferrara, Catania, Naples, Messina) was performed.Materials and methodsAnnex 3 of the Presidential Decree n. 445 of 28 December 2000 was used to collect information on the vaccination status of HCWs. The mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated with regard to the quantitative variable (age), while absolute and relative frequencies were obtained for categorical data (sex, professional profile, working sector, vaccination status). The connection between VC and the categorical variables was evaluated by chi-square method (statistical significance at p<0.05). The statistical analyses were performed by SPSS and Stata software.ResultsA total of 3,454 HCWs participated in the project: 1,236 males and 2,218 females. The sample comprised: physicians (26.9%), trainee physicians (16.1%), nurses (17.2%) and other professional categories (9.8%). Low VC was generally recorded. Higher VC was found with regard to polio, hepatitis B, tetanus and diphtheria, while coverage was very low for measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, chickenpox and influenza (20-30%). ConclusionsThis study revealed low VC rates among HCWs for all the vaccinations. Measures to increase VC are therefore necessary in order to prevent HCWs from becoming a source of transmission of infections with high morbidity and/or mortality both within hospitals and outside.

Vaccination coverage in healthcare workers: a multicenter cross-sectional study in Italy

Introduction An adequate immunization of the health care workers is essential for infection prevention and control, to avoid consequences not only for them, but for all patients that the health care workers could infect causing serious damage and / or death. Unfortunately, to date, despite the presence of international and national guidelines (Law Decree 119/2017), the vaccination coverage was low, also because of the "vaccine hesitancy" spread among the same health care workers. In light of the above, the aim of our study was to investigate the vaccination coverage of healthcare workers of all the operational units present in our hospital and to evaluate differences between sex, age, professional profile and area of work. Materials and methods A study was conducted from March to June 2018 to investigate the vaccination coverage of healthcare workers at the University hospital "G. Martino" of Messina; data were collected using a self-completion questionnaire based on Attachment 3 of Ministerial Circular 25233 of 18 August 2017. We verified any possible association between physicians and pediatricians and between age classes by the chi square method. Also, a logistic regression was used for each vaccination, considering the vaccination as the variable and the following covariates: type of operative unit, sex, age and area) in order to predict the probability of vaccination. Results We analyzed a sample of 822 health care workers (324 males and 498 females with an age of 49.5 ± 10.5 SD). The sample was made up of physicians (36%), nurses (21%) and other professional categories (43%). Analyzing the data we obtained vaccination coverages lower than the target required to guarantee "herd immunity"; higher vaccination coverages were found for females, physicians and the clinical area and - for influenza vaccination - in the older age groups and - for all the other vaccinations - in the younger groups. Conclusion Data analysis revealed a lax attitude towards vaccinations by health care workers and the need for measures aimed at increasing vaccination their coverage to prevent them from becoming a source of dangerous outbreaks.

Evaluation of Vaccination Coverages in the Health Care Workers of a University Hospital in Southern Italy.

Mobile phones belonging to healthcare workers and inpatients represent a potential source of microorganisms, some being well-known sources of hospital infections. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of contamination of the hands and mobile phones of healthcare workers and inpatients. The study comprised 200 healthcare workers and 100 inpatients of the University Hospital in Messina (Italy) between April 1 and June 31, 2013. Bacterial contamination was detected on 230 mobile phones (76.6%) and on 250 hands (83.3%). The most frequently isolated bacteria belonged to the Staphylococcus genus. For hospital staff, 78% of mobile phones and 86% of hands were found to be contaminated. Similar results were obtained for inpatients whose mobile phones tested positive in 74% of cases, while for hands the rate was 78%. These findings are in line with international literature and demonstrate that routine everyday use of mobile phones by healthcare workers and inpatients represents an important vehicle of contamination since potentially pathogenic agents, capable of causing nosocomial infections, can pass from the telephone to the hands and vice versa.

The Possible Role of Mobile Phones in Spreading Microorganisms in

/pdf/the-possible-role-of-mobile-phones-in-spreading-5dh1b504j6.pdf

Vincenzo Merlina

Papers

Vaccination coverage in healthcare workers: a multicenter cross-sectional study in Italy

Evaluation of Vaccination Coverages in the Health Care Workers of a University Hospital in Southern Italy.

The Possible Role of Mobile Phones in Spreading Microorganisms in

The Possible Role of Mobile Phones in Spreading Microorganisms inHospitals