Ethical Issues in Mandating COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Personnel.

Frontline health care personnel (HCP) were among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccines. Physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and others with direct patient contact or who handle biological materials are at high risk of exposure and illness and have duties of care and protection to patients, coworkers, and communities. Yet well into 2021, some HCP remain vaccine hesitant, an obstacle to needed immunization coverage, disease prevention, and public health. In response to inadequate coverage due to persistent vaccine hesitancy and rapid spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, nearly 60 leading medical and health care organizations have taken the extraordinary step of advocating vaccine mandates for hospitals and nursing homes.