CDC/NFID: LTC Professionals Setting Flu Vaccination Records

According to statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), health care workers are getting vaccinated against influenza at the highest rates ever, especially physicians.

The agencies said that physicians should encourage patients to get vaccinated by the end of October, citing influenza’s unpredictability. Experts also encouraged providers to discuss strain options with patients, noting that three choices are available this year to counter the three or four viruses predicted to be most common.

CDC and NFID called on health care workers to encourage others, especially seniors, to get vaccinated annually, despite recent suggestions from some studies that skipping a year may benefit the body’s immune system. CDC director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, said he does not anticipate a shortage of vaccine this year. Manufacturers estimate up to 168 million doses will be available, CDC noted, and 93 million doses have already been delivered.

A total of 79% of health care workers, including nonmedical staff, were vaccinated for the 2015-2016 season—an increase from 77.3% seen the year before and 75.2% from 2013-2014. Last year’s figure included an all-time high of 95.6% of physicians and nearly 70% of long-term care workers. The latter percentage is important, said Dr Frieden, because these groups are exposed to very vulnerable patients.

Last year, more than one-third of those aged 65 and older did not get vaccinated; this demographic is more likely to suffer complications from influenza, including hospitalization and death. More than three-quarters of those hospitalized during flu season 2 years ago were older than 64, for example, according to the release.—Amanda Del Signore