Doctors, nurses told to get flu vaccination

[Guest guest]

Doctors, nurses told to get flu vaccination

Last Updated: 2004-06-25 9:57:59 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Maggie Fox

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People shouldn't risk catching influenza from

their nurse or doctor, experts agreed on Thursday in giving their

sternest advice yet to healthcare workers to get vaccinated against the

virus.

The federal advisers who set the standards on vaccines approved their

recommendation following studies that show nearly two thirds of

healthcare workers do not get the shots.

The new guidelines will make clear that healthcare workers need to be

vaccinated every year and their employers must help them do it, said Dr.

Schaffner, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

" We want to change the culture, " said Schaffner, who sat in on the joint

meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the

Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee.

" They agreed to issue a joint recommendation which uses stronger

language than either has ever used before affirming the importance of

healthcare workers getting vaccinated. "

Schaffner, a liaison member of ACIP, helped write a report that found 64

percent of U.S. healthcare workers do not get vaccinated against

influenza, a disease that kills at least 36,000 Americans a year.

Hospital staff are known to spread the flu virus.

People infected with influenza can spread the virus for up to five days

before they feel ill and up to half of all infected people may have no

obvious symptoms at all.

The flu vaccine is recommended for infants aged 6 months to 2 years,

people over 50, and people with certain conditions that affect their

immune systems. It is also recommended for anyone in close contact with

such people, who are more at risk of death or serious illness from flu.

That includes healthcare workers, Schaffner said.

" They see themselves as being hale and hearty and not being at risk, " he

said in a telephone interview.

" These recommendations make clear that this is for the benefit of their

patients. Since this is not for their own personal benefit but for

patient health and safety it becomes clearly an institutional

responsibility, and thus the institutions, in even stronger language,

are charged with putting on effective programs that both education

healthcare workers and make the vaccine available to them free of

charge. "

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 27/06/2004 10:27:11 Central Standard Time,

Matsumura_Clan@... writes:

> - People shouldn't risk catching influenza from

> their nurse or doctor, experts agreed on Thursday in giving their

> sternest advice yet to healthcare workers to get vaccinated against the

> virus.

>

Most hospitals give their employess free flu shots. Not mandatory, but you

do get harrassed about it! Most of us get them. Cary