Table 2.
Existing Capacity of Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) to Provide Vaccination Services, June–August 2021.
| N (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey Questions | Overall (N = 105) |
SSPs with vaccinations (n = 46) |
SSPs without vaccinations (n = 59) |
P- valuea |
| How important is it that your SSP provide vaccinations for your clients? (4 missing) | 0.005 | |||
| Not important | 2 (2.0) | 2 (3.6) | ||
| Somewhat important | 32 (31.7) | 8 (17.4) | 24 (43.6) | |
| Very important | 67 (66.3) | 38 (82.6) | 29 (52.7) | |
| How important is providing vaccinations compared with other services offered (needle/syringe exchange, counseling, condoms)? (4 missing) | 0.009 | |||
| Not important | 13 (12.9) | 1 (2.2) | 12 (21.8) | |
| Somewhat important | 55 (54.5) | 26 (56.5) | 29 (52.7) | |
| Very important | 33 (32.7) | 19 (41.3) | 14 (25.5) | |
| SSP has ability to enroll clients in health insurance (11 missing) | 40 (42.6) | 22 (51.2) | 18 (35.3) | 0.145 |
| SSP has capacity to submit claims to health insurance for reimbursement (15 missing) | 13 (14.4) | 11 (28.2) | 2 (3.9) | 0.002 |
| SSP has sufficient funding to cover the following vaccination supplies | ||||
| Vaccine administration supplies (e.g., needles, syringes, alcohol prep pads, adhesive bandages) (8 missing) | 62 (63.9) | 33 (78.6) | 29 (52.7) | 0.011 |
| Vaccine education materials (6 missing) | 60 (60.6) | 36 (83.7) | 24 (42.9) | < 0.001 |
| Vaccine storage and handling (e.g., refrigeration, temperature monitoring) (10 missing) | 42 (44.2) | 31 (73.8) | 11 (20.8) | < 0.001 |
| Vaccine doses (15 missing) | 31 (34.4) | 27 (65.9) | 4 (8.2) | < 0.001 |
| SSP has staff who are licensed to administer vaccination (e.g., according to state and local licensing regulations)? (5 missing) | 53 (53.0) | 41 (91.1) | 12 (21.8) | < 0.001 |
| SSP has staff to perform data entry to record vaccinations (2 missing) | 80 (77.7) | 40 (87.0) | 40 (70.2) | 0.057 |
| Survey questions only for SSPs with vaccination services | ||||
| Which vaccines does your SSP offer? | ||||
| COVID-19 | 42 (91.3) | |||
| Hepatitis A | 35 (76.1) | |||
| Influenza (1 missing) | 33 (73.3) | |||
| Hepatitis B (2 missing) | 31 (70.5) | |||
| Tetanus (e.g., Tdap, Td) (4 missing) | 24 (57.1) | |||
| Human papillomavirus (HPV) (3 missing) | 19 (44.2) | |||
| Pneumococcal (e.g., PCV13, PPSV23) (5 missing) | 17 (41.5) | |||
| Zoster or shingles (3 missing) | 16 (37.2) | |||
| From where does your SSP receive vaccines? | ||||
| State or local health department | 35 (76.1) | |||
| Our SSP is enrolled as a Vaccine for Adults or 317 vaccine provider (federally purchased vaccine) | 11 (23.9) | |||
| Direct purchase from manufacturer or distributor | 6 (13.0) | |||
| Partnerships with hospital, university, clinic, or health system | 6 (13.0) | |||
| Group purchasing organization | 1 (2.2) | |||
| Ordered separately by in house pharmacy | 1 (2.2) | |||
| SSP submits vaccine administration data to the state or local immunization information system (1 missing) | 38 (84.4) | |||
| SSP can access state or local immunization information system to review clients’ vaccination history (3 missing) | 34 (79.1) | |||
| SSP has standing orders or nurse-driven protocols for vaccinations (4 missing) | 33 (78.6) | |||
| SSP has written protocols on vaccine storage and handling (4 missing) | 32 (76.2) | |||
| SSP assesses vaccination history prior to vaccine administration (6 missing) | 30 (75.0) | |||
| SSP has a system to follow-up with or send reminders to clients for vaccines that require multiple doses (4 missing) | 26 (61.9) | |||
| SSP assesses hepatitis B immune status prior to hepatitis B vaccine administration (8 missing)b | 16 (69.6) | |||
| SSP receives grants to cover vaccination costs (6 missing) | 9 (22.5) | |||
| Survey question only for SSPs without vaccination services | ||||
| Do you collaborate with another provider or facility to offer vaccinations to SSP clients at a nearby location? | ||||
| Yes, nearby public health department | 27 (45.8) | |||
| Yes, nearby clinic | 21 (35.6) | |||
| Yes, other | 12 (20.3) | |||
| Yes, nearby pharmacy | 4 (6.8) | |||
| Yes, mobile van | 4 (6.8) | |||
| No | 12 (20.3) | |||
Note. SSP = syringe services program.
a
P-values compare SSPs with vaccinations and SSPs without vaccinations.
b
The denominator includes only SSPs that answered “yes” offering hepatitis B vaccine (n = 31)