As mass COVID-19 vaccination programs roll out across the country, we are potentially faced with compromising workers’ health for the sake of the broader public health, as it relates to occupational exposure to contaminated needles and syringes. We have the opportunity to provide recommendations that advance protection of workers through the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls, especially in light of the twentieth anniversary of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act. Specifically, greater focus on institutional controls that can dictate the safety culture and climate of institutions that roll out COVID-19 vaccination programs, while maintaining careful focus on preventing sharps injuries and blood exposure. In addition, we provide suggestions for the role that engineering controls, such as devices with sharps injury prevention features play in protecting workers from exposure to bloodborne pathogens, as well as the importance of ongoing injury incident surveillance.
Reference:Persaud E, Mitchell A. Needlestick Injuries Among Healthcare Workers Administering COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States. New Solut. 2021 Mar 15:10482911211001483. doi: 10.1177/10482911211001483. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33722093.