Emergency departments see more than 150 million patients per year, some of whom have limited access to primary care. Others may not have found the opportunity to get vaccinated or are hesitant.
While emergency departments provide emergent care and traditionally do not address general public health needs, there is some precedence for EDs giving vaccines (ie., tetanus) and engaging in public health initiatives (ie, offering HIV screening).
As emergency physicians, you can help increase the number of people who are vaccinated. ACEP encourages you to consider working with your institution to provide vaccines to appropriate patients who will be discharged from the emergency department.
If you already set up a vaccination program in your ED, please take a few minutes to complete our survey for national data gathering.
Resources to Develop a Program
Webinar: COVID-19 Vaccinations in the Emergency Department - watch on demand
ACEP Toolkit for COVID-19 Emergency Department (ED) Vaccination Programs
Joint Letter Supporting COVID-19 Vaccines
Vaccine Hesitancy Resources
Patient Poster and Flyer from ACEP's Diversity and Inclusion Section
COVID-19 Vaccination Smart Phrases Now in Several Languages
Webinar: This Is Our Shot: How EM Docs Can Empower Patients to End the Pandemic (on demand)
ACEP's Public COVID-19 Vaccine Information Center
The Language of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance