Gloves are not routinely required when administering intramuscular injections. Vaccine administration is a minimal contact procedure. Clean hands are essential, adhering to bare below elbows, keeping nails short with no nail polish or jewellery, with the exception of a plain wedding band in order to maintain effective hand hygiene.
A point of care hand hygiene risk assessment can be undertaken to assess if additional personal protective equipment is required.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee Guidelines for Ireland recommended that if either the patient’s or the vaccinator’s skin is not intact, gloves should be worn. Where the need to wear gloves has been identified, the gloves should be changed and hand hygiene adhered to both before and after each patient contact
[1] AMRIC Point of Care Risk Assessment available here
[1] Chapter 2 General Immunisation Procedures available at https://www.rcpi.ie/Healthcare-Leadership/NIAC/Immunisation-Guidelines-for-Ireland
[1] AMRIC Gloves Off Poster available here