Analysis of the Feasibility of a Vaccination Campaign against Influenza Epidemic and COVID-19 Pandemic in French Emergency Departments: A National Survey

Daniel Aiham Ghazali; Christophe Choquet; Donia Bouzid; Luisa Colosi; Arsalene Ben Hammouda; Mathias Wargon; Matthieu Gay; Prabakar Vaittinada Ayar; Bendecite Douay; Eric Revue; Louis Soulat; Romain Hellmann; Enrique Casalino

doi:10.3390/vaccines9040400

Analysis of the Feasibility of a Vaccination Campaign against Influenza Epidemic and COVID-19 Pandemic in French Emergency Departments: A National Survey

Vaccines (Basel). 2021 Apr 19;9(4):400. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9040400.

Authors

Daniel Aiham Ghazali^{1

2

3

4}, Christophe Choquet^{1

2}, Donia Bouzid^{1

2

3}, Luisa Colosi^{1

2}, Arsalene Ben Hammouda^{2

5}, Mathias Wargon^{2

6}, Matthieu Gay⁷, Prabakar Vaittinada Ayar⁷, Bendecite Douay⁴, Eric Revue^{2

8}, Louis Soulat⁹, Romain Hellmann^{1

2

10}, Enrique Casalino^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Emergency Department and EMS, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), University Hospital of Bichat, 75018 Paris, France.
² The French National Study Group for Efficiency and Quality of Emergency Departments and Non-Scheduled Activities, Université de Paris, 75018 Paris, France.
³ IAME (Infection, Antimicrobial, Modeling, Evaluation), INSERM UMR1137, Université de Paris, 75018 Paris, France.
⁴ Emergency Medical Services, Hôpital of Beaujon, 92110 Clichy, France.
⁵ Emergency Department, Hôpital de la Côte Fleurie, 14113 Cricquebœuf, France.
⁶ Emergency Department, Hôpital Delafontaine, 93200 Saint Denis, France.
⁷ Emergency Department, Hôpital Beaujon, 92110 Clichy, France.
⁸ Emergency Department, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Hôpital Lariboisière, 75010 Paris, France.
⁹ Emergengy Departement, SAMUSMUR Urgences, CHU Rennes, Hôpital PONCHAILLOU 35 000 RENNES, France.
¹⁰ Regional Health Agency of Ile de France, 93200 Saint Denis, France.

Abstract

Background: Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to fight the influenza epidemic and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which represent a major public issue. The objective was to investigate the adherence of heads of French emergency departments (ED) and nursing departments on a potential vaccination campaign of healthcare workers (HCW) and patients in ED.

Method: In February 2021, ED and nursing department heads were asked to answer a national survey. It included 24 questions designed to cover some dimensions, including characteristics of the hospital and emergency departments (ED) and questions on vaccination.

Results: 414 responses out of 800 questionnaires (51.8%) were collected. Scores out of 10 were, respectively, 7 (6-8) and 8 (6-9) for vaccination against influenza and COVID-19 for HCW and 2 (2-3) and 2 (2-4) for ED patients (H = 989.3; p < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression found that the existence of a vaccine program in the hospital and the use of point of care influenza PCR in ED were positively associated with the acceptance of influenza vaccination campaign for HCW (p = 0.003) and patients (p = 0.015). Factors limiting adherence to a vaccination program of HCW and patients were lack of medical staff (p = 0.041 for HCW and p < 0.0001 for patients), overcrowded ED (p < 0.001), and the inability to follow up with patients after the ED visit (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: There have been many missed opportunities for influenza vaccination, and there is pressure to vaccinate against COVID-19 as soon as possible. Vaccination campaigns in ED could help to improve vaccination coverage. ED staff are more likely to vaccinate HCW than patients. There are factors that support the implementation of such programs, which can be grouped into a culture of diagnosis, control, and prevention of viral infectious diseases within the hospital and ED. On the other hand, there are limiting factors, such as overcrowding and lack of personnel.

Keywords: COVID-19; emergency departments; healthcare workers; influenza; patients; vaccination campaign.