HEALTH CARE WORKERS & FLU RISK
As the effects of the flu vaccine shortage sweep the nation, the Centers for Disease Control is warning that health care workers need to make every effort to get vaccinated. Healthcare workers are a liability in terms of the spread of the flu virus. Yet, many don’t get the flu vaccine. And this year, when the flu vaccine is in short supply, it’s important to keep the virus from spreading as much as possible, which is why these healthcare workers need to get their shots.
“I came here to see my medical doctor. I’m a cancer patient, a survivor of two years. It’s very important to get the flu shot, because it prevents me from catching a cold, or even dying from it.” 65 year old Joyce Benette knows that she must be armored with her flu vaccine. And health care workers may want to take some cues from Joyce.
Data recently released at the National Immunization Conference sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that health care workers often don’t vaccinate themselves.
But infectious disease expert Dr. Steven Baum warns that’s playing with fire. “Health care workers should be considered a relatively high risk population not because of their own illness, but because they’re exposed to people who may get influenza. So they in turn should get the flu vaccine,” says Dr. Baum.
The problem is, healthcare workers become vectors, spreading the virus to their sick patients, who are most at risk for serious complications of the flu, including death.
A recent study found only 58% of healthcare workers considered it necessary for them to get the flu vaccine, and only 47% actually get the flu vaccine. For most there’s no excuse not to. The only reason why a person couldn’t get a flu vaccine is because he or she is allergic to eggs, because the flu vaccine is produced in eggs, or because he or she is allergic to thimerosol which is the preservative in the flu vaccine.
Several hospitals around the country are making a push to get health care workers immunized. In order to get high rates of coverage, some doctors are supporting strict recommendations such as pre-employment agreements that specify a vacation can be withheld if a worker is not vaccinated, excluding unvaccinated employees from duty during outbreaks and requiring immunizations starting with the hospital chief of staff.
“Because most of them are healthy, they’re working, they don’t think they’re part of the high risk population. And, that’s something that only education will overcome,” says Dr. Baum.
One out of four healthcare workers have never had a flu vaccine. But at Beth Israel Medical Center the push to get the flu vaccine is evident.
“We have signs all over and other hospitals do too, to try to influence people to get the flu vaccine,” states Dr. Baum.
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