COVID Vaccine – CCHPs Speak Out
COVID-19 Vaccines On Our Minds
As we start 2021, the topic on everyone's mind in health care, corrections, and beyond is the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccines. Our fourth quarter quick quiz received responses from 162 Certified Correctional Health Professionals (CCHPs) in 40 states. This is a convenient sample of responses from a survey sent to all current CCHPs.
Do these CCHPs plan to get the vaccine? The overwhelming majority (86%) said yes, either right away or later after more "wait and see." Only 7% said no and 7% have not decided. The survey did not ask for more details on why people would not get the vaccine.
![71% of CCHPs will get vaccinated as soon as it's offered](https://www.ncchc.org/filebin/CCHP/Quick_Quiz/When-Get-Vaccinated.jpg)
Does their facility have plans for the getting and distributing the vaccine? One third of respondents said that they had no information; since this survey was conducted in the last week of December 2020, we hope that plans will be widely shared by mid-January 2021. 6% of respondents said that vaccinations for heatlh care staff had already started.
![Progress of Facility Planning](https://www.ncchc.org/filebin/CCHP/Quick_Quiz/planning-progress.jpg)
Due to the challenges of vaccine storage and dosing, the survey asked respondents which elements their plans included. The top two responses, which were each slightly under 50%, included obtaining the vaccine, and prioritizing health care workers and correctional staff. As of January 5, many details were unknown to survey participants.
![Specific Items Included in Facility Vax Plans](https://www.ncchc.org/filebin/CCHP/Quick_Quiz/Facility-Vax-Plans-Include.jpg)
Who gets the vaccine first is a challenging question, with national public health experts, including NCCHC, calling for incarcerated populations to be a priority. While most respondents were not sure how prioritization would be set in their state, health care workers are in the highest/top groups overall, while the incarcerated are not.
![Top priority to receive vaccine](https://www.ncchc.org/filebin/CCHP/Quick_Quiz/top-priority-for-vaccine.jpg)
Finally, we asked how many CCHPs had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Our respondents have kept themselves safe, with 88% not having had it and 12% having had moderate, mild or asymptomatic cases. No respondent had a case serious enough to have been hospitalized (or they are no longer working in corrections and did not respond).
![Personal experience with covid](https://www.ncchc.org/filebin/CCHP/Quick_Quiz/pie-did-you-get-covid.jpg)
Original Article By: ncchc.org