Vaccines are important for people who work with patients, particularly those who work in hospitals, for two reasons. First, these people are at higher risk of catching certain infections than those who don't work in healthcare. 

Second, healthcare workers who are ill can unintentionally infect their patients, including those at risk of suffering severe complications and death because of weakened immunity. Therefore, medical institutions might require their employees to be immunized against certain diseases. For example, some hospitals and other healthcare institutions require the annual influenza vaccine. Sometimes, these requirements have generated debate about the individual rights of the employee versus the safety of patients.

Read more about this issue in an article about the ethics of mandating influenza vaccine for healthcare workers.

Healthcare workers may be at increased risk for exposure or transmission of the following vaccine-preventable diseases, depending on where they are located, the types of patients they see, and whether outbreaks are occurring in their area:

• COVID-19
• Hepatitis B
• Influenza
• Measles, mumps and rubella
• Mpox
• Pertussis
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Tuberculosis (TB) — Since the U.S. does not routinely vaccinate against TB, healthcare workers are typically screened at certain intervals to ensure that they have not been exposed.

If you work in healthcare, check with your employer or your own healthcare provider to determine whether you are sufficiently protected against these infections.