abc: Docs who avoid flu shots

[Guest guest]

Docs Talk the Talk, But Do They Take Flu Shots?

Some Doctors and Other Health Care Professionals Steer Clear of Flu Shots

RADHA CHITALE

ABC News Medical Unit

Dec. 9, 2008

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=6418974 & page=1

Every fall, the public is barraged by messages from doctors, nurses and

other health care providers to get a flu vaccination to protect against

the influenza virus.

But the truth is, some doctors and nurses might talk the talk without

walking the walk.

According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, a significant chunk of health care professionals

declined to get vaccinated against the influenza virus during the

2006-07 flu season, with only about 40 percent opting for a jab. It's an

" abysmal and profoundly sad " statistic, according to Dr.

Schaffner, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at

Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville, Tenn.

" Both the professional and ethical responsibility of all health care

workers is to be vaccinated annually against influenza, " Schaffner said.

Vaccination serves to protect both patient and health care provider from

becoming infected with influenza, as well as from transmitting the

contagious virus to others.

Pains, Aches and Chills

One in five Americans get the flu every year, according to the CDC. Of

these, 200,000 are hospitalized and about 36,000 die.

Schaffner added that, in the midst of an influenza outbreak, it is

crucial to have healthy people on hand to take care of patients.

= = see also = =

*

Sixty Percent of Doctors Refuse to Get Flu Shots*

by Mike

December 9, 2008

http://tinyurl.com/6jb7lf

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