Vaccination in healthcare workers: Risk assessment, planning, strategy of intervention and legal implications

It was our pleasure to chair the Workshop Vaccination in healthcare workers: risk assessment, planning, strategy of intervention and legal implications, held in February 2018 in Catania, Italy. The meeting brought together an interdisciplinary group of specialists for an intensive program on vaccination in healthcare workers (HCWs). The topic of this summit reflected the need to stress the importance of vaccinations among HCWs in a particularly difficult period of re-emergence ofmeasles and other vaccine-preventable diseases in Europe and elsewhere, because, transversely, vaccination coverage is decreasing among the general population in the light of the rising antivaccination beliefs and vaccination hesitancy. HCWs serve as a paradigm for their patients and at the same time have the ethical duty to protect them. Their attitudes toward vaccinations are crucial to promoting their uptake, and the successful implementation of routine vaccination programs [1]. The workshop aimed to promote continuous learning and exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas to increase vaccination in HCWs, as well as promote safety within healthcare facilities. In addition to insights and knowledge to be gained from field experiences, the gaps were clarified and strategies were proposed to raise the immunological protection of vaccine-preventable diseases among HCWs.