INMO urge CMO and NIAC to revisit vaccine booster decision

Following confirmation from the HSE that more than 1,800 healthcare workers are currently out of work, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has written to the chief medical officer and the chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee calling for Covid-19 vaccine boosters to be provided to frontline healthcare workers.

The INMO general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said: “From the HPSC figures published last Friday, in the last month, the number of Covid infections has increased among healthcare workers, and nurses and midwives represent the highest cohort of those infected.

“In the last month, 371 nurses and midwives were infected – 26.2pc of all healthcare workers infected in the last month.

“The level of infection rate of healthcare workers is going in the wrong direction, and it is especially concerning given the time of year. The reported workplace outbreaks are highest in workplaces that are described as health care settings including acute hospitals – clearly this increases the risks for those working in these environments.”

Ms Ní Sheaghdha said that nurses and midwives are exhausted from working in a pressurised environment since February 2020, having to wear PPE and often unable to take holidays due to high absence levels.

“We know exhaustion adds to their vulnerability and coupled with exposure to high levels of this virus in their workplace, it is now imperative that they are afforded the maximum protections available including booster vaccines,” said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.

“As supply is not an issue, thankfully, and the HSE advise that vaccinators are available to administer, we must insist that frontline healthcare workers are prioritised for an mRNA vaccine booster now.”

The INMO has requested the Health and Safety Authority to reinforce the risk mitigation requirements of the Biological Hazards Directive, which is now transposed into Irish law.

The regulation directs employers to ensure that all necessary protections, including vaccines, where available, to afford maximum protections are available to those exposed to Covid-19.

Ms Ní Sheaghdha said: “On behalf of our members, the people who are at most risk of contracting Covid-19 in their workplace, we are now requesting an immediate decision to include frontline healthcare workers in the vaccine booster programme.

"We cannot afford to have huge swathes of nurses and midwives infected with Covid-19 and out of the workplace when hospitals are overcrowded and waiting lists continuing to grow.”