Flu shots on tap for health care workers
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090522/FREE/905229982
May 22, 2009 11:16 AM
By Barbara Benson
Published: May 22, 2009 – 11:16 am
The state Department of Health is proposing mandatory flu vaccines for all health care workers in the state. The new rule would apply not just to staff, but to anyone who potentially comes into direct contact with patients. That includes contract workers, students and volunteers.
The proposal, which is still in draft form, would apply to everyone working in hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, certified home health agencies, long-term home health care programs, AIDS home care programs, licensed home care services agencies, and hospices. A separate rule is pending in the Legislature that applies to nursing home workers.
The state health department’s move is an acknowledgment that voluntary flu vaccination efforts don’t work. But it wasn’t clear if the regulation would be implemented before any vaccination for the H1N1 flu virus is manufactured.
Although the CDC has recommended flu shots for health workers since 1981, voluntary participation is extremely low among New York health workers, at a mere 40%.
But at least one study showed that while 23% of health care personnel had serologic evidence of a flu infection, most of those—59% in fact—could not recall having symptoms. Nonetheless, the potential for spreading infection among elderly and weak patients is high.
According to DOH data, 5,179 employees in hospitals and nursing homes were sickened by either suspected or confirmed flu infections between 2000 and 2007, while more than 19,000 hospital patients and nursing home residents fell into that category.
Under the proposed regulations, the only people who would be exempt from getting a flu vaccination by Nov. 30 of each year would be those who had a medical reason for avoiding the shot.
All health facilities would have to offer the free shots, and DOH didn’t specify who would pay for them. Most likely, the facilities would.
The facilities also would be responsible for documenting in personnel files all information relating to the vaccination, including the date, dose, manufacturer, lot number, place of vaccination, and any reactions to the shot. By May 1 each year, the health care industry would report to DOH the number of people vaccinated by profession.