Vaccinate
Seasonal influenza is a serious viral infection and should never be taken lightly. On average [24]:
- 5% to 20% of the US population gets the flu
- Between 1979 and 2001, more than 200,000 people were hospitalized from flu or its complications each year
- Between 1990 and 1999, roughly 36,000 people died from the flu or its complications each year
- 90% of these deaths occurred among people 65 years of age or older
Even with these facts, high-risk patients including healthcare workers like you are not getting vaccinated—putting you and your patients at risk.
- When should patients be vaccinated?
- Though October and November are prime vaccination months, shots should be given all flu season long because no one knows exactly when the season may end or peak. In fact, what many think of as too late is actually when influenza cases are growing fastest—the “Not Too Late” Zone. Click here to learn about the “true flu season”. [2,24]
- Does getting a flu shot really make a difference?
- Yes, it can. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting a flu vaccination every year is the single best way to protect against seasonal influenza.
- Setting up an annual influenza vaccination program in a healthcare environment has been shown to reduce lost work days, substantially reduce seasonal influenza infection, and decrease transmission to patients [21]
- Vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs) had 28% fewer documented lost work days compared to those who did not get the flu shot [20]
- It has been estimated that flu vaccination could save thousands of lives each year among people with heart disease and related diseases [13]
- Any person 6 months of age and older should get a flu shot. Special emphasis should be placed on the following: [2]
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- Any adult who wants to lower his/her risk of getting or spreading seasonal influenza
- People at high risk for complications from the flu or who might need medical care if infected. These include:
- Pregnant women, and women who will be pregnant
- People 50 years and older
- Adults with certain chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease)
- Adults who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
- Healthy adult household contacts of people in high-risk groups (see above)
- Healthy adult household contacts/out-of-home caregivers of children less than 5 years old and adults greater than 50 years of age
- Adult healthcare workers
- Is there anyone who shouldn’t be vaccinated? [2]
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- Adults who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs
- Adults who have had a life-threatening reaction to a flu shot in the past
- Adults who have developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting a flu shot previously
- Adults who have a moderate or severe illness with a fever (these people should wait to get a shot until their symptoms lessen)
- Will this year’s flu shot be the same as last year’s?
- No. The WHO decides year by year which flu viruses will be represented in the vaccine. Each year’s vaccine can be different from the year before, so that’s why it’s important to get a flu shot every year. Make the flu shot part of your routine—and your patients’.
