By Peter Kenny
GENEVA (AA) - Nurses have a "professional responsibility" to follow public health measures, including being vaccinated, the International Council of Nurses said on Thursday.
The ICN's directors' board spoke about COVID-19 vaccinations, highlighting nurses' professional responsibility and "lamentable inequality" of access to vaccines.
The Geneva-based ICN is a federation of more than 130 national nurses' associations, representing more than 27 million nurses worldwide.
The council calls for the protection of nurses from harm.
"Nurses have consistently been voted the most trusted professionals on the planet, and they have a vital role in providing up-to-date, evidence-based healthcare advice to their patients and the communities they serve," said Pamela Cipriano, ICN president.
"Nurses are great role models, and the positive advice they give about COVID-19 vaccines can only be effective when they themselves take advantage of the protections the vaccines provide."
ICN affirmed its belief in the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and its conviction that nurses must enhance public trust in vaccines and encourage people to have them.
Some countries that have imposed vaccine mandates on health workers have run into resistance to the measure.
- Ensure vaccine equity
The ICN also urged governments to do more to ensure vaccine equity around the globe, especially for vulnerable people and nurses and others who care for them.
It called for "better protection of nurses against the abuse and violence they have suffered while conducting their health education and vaccine administration roles."
Regarding abuse nurses have faced during the pandemic, Cipriano said: "We all know that nursing can be a challenging profession, but to have to face violence and aggression on top of the rigors of the job is totally unacceptable."
Since the pandemic started, ICN said it reported on the disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable populations and remains concerned at the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, especially in Africa.
"Progress in vaccinating in Africa continues to be painfully slow, with 85% of the population still to receive a single dose and less than half of healthcare workers fully vaccinated," said Howard Catton, ICN chief executive officer.
"What is also alarming is that only 0.1% of the total African population have been given boosters."
He added: '"There must be no false sense of security because individual nations alone will not be able to boost the world out of the pandemic."