Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers: A discussion paper.
Della Maneze, Yenna Salamonson, Maxwell Grollman and 2 others
PMID 36462385WHAT IT FOUND
Arguments for mandatory healthcare worker vaccination prioritized protecting patients over staff autonomy.
Arguments against focused on coercion and workforce shortages. The review found no consensus, recommending less intrusive measures like education and paid leave be tried first.
Key findings
01Pro-mandatory arguments relied on the ethical duty to protect vulnerable patients from harm, even if it infringed on healthcare workers' autonomy.
02Anti-mandatory arguments warned that coercion could worsen vaccine hesitancy, cause staff to leave, and disproportionately affect minority groups.
03The review recommends prioritizing less intrusive strategies, such as improving access, providing accurate information, and offering paid time off, before implementing mandates.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review only included articles published in English, which may bias the findings toward Western perspectives. It relied entirely on opinion pieces and editorials rather than empirical studies or patient outcomes. The search period ended in November 2021, so it does not reflect later evidence on vaccine efficacy against variants or long-term workforce impacts. The classification of articles as pro, neutral, or anti was based on the authors' interpretation of the texts, which can be subjective.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests. The work received no external funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that mandatory vaccination improved patient outcomes or safety. The paper synthesizes ethical and legal arguments from opinion pieces published before widespread variant emergence, so it reflects the debate at that time, not tested clinical results.