This Holiday Season, Protect Yourself and Your Patients

As communities prepare for another respiratory virus season and a potential winter COVID wave that overlaps with rises in flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the updated COVID vaccine remains our best defense against severe illness, hospitalization, long-term illness, and death caused by the virus. This is as true for healthcare providers as it is for everyone else. No one wants to miss a holiday gathering or time with family and friends because of flu or COVID. And as clinicians, we always carry the extra weight of needing to be healthy to take care of our patients. 

There’s another crucial reason for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical assistants, and long-term clinicians to get their shots: to inspire others to follow our lead. Every day, you interact with patients who are at higher risk of getting severely sick from COVID. One of the best ways to help those patients get vaccinated is by sharing that you got yours. Multiple studies show that the person people trust most to advise them on vaccines is their healthcare provider. Being able to tell your patient, “I got this shot myself” is a powerful signal that vaccines are safe, effective, and crucial for health. 

But this year, rates of COVID vaccination are sharply declining among providers. Recent data show that just 15% of healthcare workers in acute hospital settings have received their COVID vaccine. And in long-term care facilities, where patients are at higher risk for severe illness and death, only 10% of workers had gotten their shot. 

Together, we can change that — and better protect your health and the health of your patients. 

First, getting your COVID shot is still incredibly necessary — for everyone.  At this point, many of us have had COVID, sometimes more than once. For some people, COVID has manifested similarly to a cold — with mild symptoms that go away in a matter of days. That personal experience can lead many of us to believe that COVID is no longer a major threat, and no more dangerous to our health than the flu. But the data don’t back that up. COVID is undeniably more dangerous. Last fall and winter, more than twice as many people ended up in the hospital with COVID than with flu. And based on available data, in 2023, COVID contributed to at least 75,000 deaths — almost three times higher than the estimated death toll from the flu. 

Here’s what else the data show: Across all age groups and demographics, the COVID vaccine remains the most effective way to protect against infection and severe illness — and its benefits are powerful even if you’ve already gotten a past season’s vaccine or had COVID. Data show that last year, the updated shot kept at least 40,000 people out of the hospital; it cut your risk of hospitalization in half in the months after vaccination. These benefits were evident even among populations with some immunity from previous vaccinations or infections. 

The effectiveness of this year’s vaccine is likely to be similar. And the vaccine remains the only known preventative measure against long COVID— a condition that can occur even after mild illness and can cause serious disability. As we continue to study long COVID and research possible treatments, the vaccine remains the best protection against long-term illness. 

Second, getting your own vaccine can encourage your patients to protect themselves.  Even if you may not have risk factors for severe COVID, many of your patients do. This is especially true for those of you who care for immunocompromised patients, or patients in need of long-term care. In study after study, we see the same truth: that people trust their clinicians more than any other source for information about their health. As healthcare workers, you are crucial trusted messengers on the importance of vaccination, and that the shots are safe. 

Having the additional credibility of personal experience when making your recommendations is especially important today. In the aftermath of the public health emergency, increases in COVID cases no longer make national headlines — which means that for many of your patients, you might be the only person who reminds them that it’s time to get vaccinated, and that there’s an updated shot. And in an era where you may be getting more questions about vaccine safety, you are undoubtedly the best person to reassure your patients about the safety of the COVID vaccine — and help them distinguish fact from fiction in what they’ve read online. You can remind them that prior to their rollout, the COVID vaccine had already undergone the most intensive safety analysis in US history; that hundreds of millions of people have safely received their shots; side effects are usually mild; and that the CDC continues to study and monitor any adverse effects. And telling a patient, directly and clearly, that you got your own shots can go a long way in assuaging their concerns. 

So to all the healthcare workers out there, I urge you to get your COVID shots today.  Make it a priority. Make the time. Make a plan, just like your patients. Today more than ever, we need you to protect your health and the health of your patients so we can build a healthier nation for us all.