Coverage was highest among healthcare personnel working in hospital settings, followed by those working in ambulatory care, then other clinical settings.
This article first appeared September 27, 2018 on Medpage Today.
By Molly Walker
Over three-quarters of healthcare personnel received an influenza vaccination during the 2017-2018 flu season, researchers found.
Similar to the previous four flu seasons, 78.4% of healthcare personnel reported receiving the flu shot, with coverage around 95% for those whose employer required them to be vaccinated, while coverage was less than half of those working in settings where vaccination was not required, promoted, or offered on-site, reported Carla L. Black, PhD, of the CDC, and colleagues, writing in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
The researchers examined data from an internet panel survey of healthcare personnel conducted for the CDC by both Medscape and Survey Sampling International. Overall, the sample included 2,265 healthcare personnel.
The authors noted that coverage was similar to that in the 2016-2017 season, and similar to the results in previous seasons, it was highest among healthcare personnel working in hospital settings (91.9%), followed by those working in ambulatory care (75.1%), "other clinical settings" (74.9%), and finally, long-term care settings (67.4%).
Examining the personnel themselves, the researchers found that over 95% of physicians were vaccinated, as well as over 90% of pharmacists and nurses. Coverage rates were lowest among non-clinical health personnel (72.8%) and assistants and aides (71.1%).
Around 44% of healthcare personnel reported a requirement to be vaccinated -- including over two-thirds of those working in hospitals. Less than 40% of those working in ambulatory care were required to be vaccinated, as well as less than 30% of those working in long-term care.
The researchers noted that influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel working in long-term care settings "continues to be consistently lower" than those working in all other healthcare settings. "Influenza vaccination among healthcare personnel in long-term care settings is especially important because influenza vaccine efficacy is generally the lowest among the elderly, who are at increased risk to severe disease."
About Half of Pregnant Women Received Flu Shot
A second study in the same issue of the MMWR found that about 49% of 1,171 pregnant women in an internet panel survey who were pregnant during "peak influenza vaccination period" (October 2017-January 2018) reported that they received the influenza vaccine before or during their pregnancy.
Two-thirds of women reported receiving a provider offer for influenza vaccination, wrote Katherine E. Kahn, MPH, of the CDC, and co-authors. Not surprisingly, of the women who reported receiving this offer, 63.8% received the vaccine. Among women who reported that their provider recommended the vaccine but did not offer influenza vaccination, 42.1% received a referral to get vaccinated. The most commonly reported reason for not receiving the flu shot before or during pregnancy was "belief that the vaccine is not effective" (20.2%).
The survey also found that among 700 respondents who had a recent live birth, 54.4% reported receiving the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine during pregnancy. Similarly, a little over two-thirds of women reported receiving an offer from their provider of Tdap vaccine, and when the provider recommended but did not offer the vaccine, 52.9% received a referral, Kahn and colleagues said.
They emphasized the results of a recent survey conducted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which found that while "providers believe they are giving a recommendation for vaccination, the recommendation might not be strong enough to be remembered by patients."
The team noted that CDC has resources to assist providers about effectively communicating about the importance of vaccination, and also cited the ACOG immunization toolkit as another resource.