Making Influenza Vaccinations Mandatory

Does your employer require you to get the influenza vaccine? Do they offer flu shots at no cost to you? There is a growing trend to make influenza vaccinations mandatory for healthcare personnel. Hospital leaders are getting on board, but there is work to be done in the long-term care setting.

A recent issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) called Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel — United States, 2017–18 Influenza Season explored the topic.

Here is a portion of the report:

“The highest influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel continues to be reported in worksites with employer requirements for vaccination. Numerous professional medical associations, including the American Medical Directors Association, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the American Hospital Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, and the American Pharmacists Association support mandatory influenza vaccination requirements for healthcare personnel. In the absence of vaccination requirements, recommendations found in the Guide to Community Preventive Services, which include actively promoted on-site vaccination at no or low cost, can increase influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel (6), although promotional activities generally do not attain the levels of coverage achieved by vaccination requirements. Long-term care employers can use CDC’s long-term care web-based toolkit, which provides access to resources, strategies, and educational materials for increasing influenza vaccination among healthcare personnel and reducing influenza-associated morbidity and mortality among patients in long-term care settings.”

Citation: Black CL, Yue X, Ball SW, et al. Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel — United States, 2017–18 Influenza Season. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:1050–1054. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6738a2.

Qsource provides immunization technical assistance in AL, IN, KY and MS. Contact Rebel McKnight for details.