Room to improve flu vaccine coverage among health care personnel
- MMWR in Review
Editor’s note: This article summarizes key points from two Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). To subscribe to MMWR, visit www.cdc.gov/MMWR.
- Black CA, et al. “Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel – United States, 2015-16 Influenza Season.” MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;65(38):1026-1031, www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6538a2.htm.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that all health care personnel receive annual influenza vaccination to reduce influenza-related morbidity in health care settings. The CDC has been conducting surveys of health care personnel to monitor influenza vaccine coverage since the 2010-’11 season. The MMWR article summarizes results of the 2015-’16 season survey, which included 2,258 health care personnel.
Overall, 79% of survey participants reported receiving an influenza vaccine during the 2015-’16 season, which was similar to coverage in the 2014-’15 season (77%) but higher than the 2010-’11 season (64%).
Health care personnel working in hospitals had higher coverage (91%) than those working in ambulatory (80%) or long-term care settings (69%). When stratified by occupation, coverage was highest among physicians (96%) and lowest among assistants and aides (64%).
The highest coverage occurred among health care personnel whose employer required the vaccine (96%). Higher influenza immunization rates in health care providers resulted from the following:
- employer requirements for influenza vaccination,
- access to influenza vaccination in the workplace and
- provision of influenza vaccine at no cost.
Information on influenza vaccines available for the 2016-’17 season can be found at www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/vaccines.htm.
Dr. Collins is a member of the AAP Section on Infectious Diseases. She is a post-graduate training fellow in pediatric infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Dr. Pickering was editor of the AAP Red Book from 2000-’12. He is adjunct professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine.
