The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends annual flu vaccination for all healthcare workers. Yet accordingly to the CDC, the early 2014-2015 vaccination coverage level reached just 64.3% among this group. The most common reason reported among healthcare professionals who did not intend to get the flu vaccination was that the flu vaccine was ineffective.

 

The Public Health Foundation supports the CDC’s recommendations regarding the vaccination of all healthcare professionals. While peak timing, the composition, and severity of the flu are highly unpredictable from season to season, there is one certainty:  the flu will strike during the 2015-2016 season.

Getting the flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself, your patients, and your community from contracting the flu. The vaccine also greatly reduces flu-related illnesses, and subsequently, missed days from work and school, and hospitalizations. It takes approximately two weeks for the vaccine protection to set in, so don’t delay. Make plans to receive your flu shot today.

Access the following list of resources to help curb the spread of flu:

We’d like to hear from you on what creative approaches you are using in your community to increase flu vaccination rates and decrease the incidence of flu. Please let us know your activities by leaving a comment below on this page, or send us an email to info@phf.org for more information.