Groups call for mandatory flu shots for health care workers

Flu shots should be mandatory for health care workers, according to a policy statement issued recently by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The academy threw its support behind several other professional organizations that have made the same proposal, including the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the National Patient Safety Foundation and the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

In January, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics showed just 35 percent of health care workers received the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines. This season, the H1N1 vaccine is included in the seasonal flu shot.

CDC data show only about 40 percent of health care workers were vaccinated for the flu between 2000 and 2005.