Report: Flu vaccination rates among healthcare workers continue to grow

Long-term care professionals had an influenza vaccine compliance rate of 64.4% during last year's flu season, compared with a 71.1% compliance rate among hospital workers, new data shows.

Roughly 63.5% of all healthcare workers received influenza vaccines in the 2010-2011 flu season, which is up from 61.9% from the previous year, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. For the Aug. 19 report, the agency surveyed 1,931 healthcare personnel. It found that self-reported vaccination coverage for workers whose employers required the vaccination was 98.1%, compared with 58.3% of participants whose workplaces don't mandate the vaccination.

According to an editorial note in the report, CDC officials believe that healthcare providers need to continue educating their employees about the importance of getting the vaccine and stress its efficacy.

The majority of the unvaccinated said they believed the flu vaccination was safe. “However, when compared with those vaccinated, significantly lower percentages of unvaccinated HCP (healthcare personnel) expressed the beliefs that getting vaccinated was worth the time and expense and that influenza vaccination can protect them and the persons around them from disease.”