Health care workers should receive vaccine first, international group says

Nurses and other healthcare workers should be prioritized once a vaccine against COVID-19 becomes available, said International Council of Nurses (ICN), which represents 130 national nursing associations.

“This is the morally and ethically right thing to do for frontline healthcare workers, but also to safeguard healthcare systems that are threatened by the ongoing pandemic, which has not yet reached its peak, and prepare for the threat of a second wave,” said ICN Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton in a statement.

ICN said that many health care workers are still without the proper protective equipment, and that between 8%-10% of all COVID-19 cases are among health care workers.

“Governments must prioritize the protection of nurses and other healthcare workers so that they can get on with their job of caring for the sick and preventing the spread of the virus. It is the right thing to do and it will protect patients and help to safeguard the healthcare systems nurses work in, which are creaking under the strain of the pandemic,” added Catton.

Read ICN’s full statement here.