Only 38 percent of healthcare workers nationwide received the
flu vaccine in 2000, which may indicate an increased risk of
transmitting the influenza virus from worker to patient, according
to a study released by UCLA and Harvard researchers Tuesday.
The study, led by Dr. William King at the David Geffen School of
Medicine, and Dr. Steffie Woolhandler at Harvard Medical School,
analyzed interview data of 1,651 healthcare workers and found
vaccination rates particularly low among African Americans, health
aides and people under 50.
“It’s not shocking,” said Evi Desser, nurse
practitioner at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.
“It’s common for healthcare workers to take better care
of their patients than themselves.”
According to the study, “low vaccination rates may occur
either because (healthcare workers) do not believe in influenza
vaccination efficacy, believe that their own immune system is
sufficient, or are concerned about side effects such as …
injection site pain.”
Low vaccination rates could be remedied, the study said, with
programs that provided education, scheduled appointments and
offered reminders.
“It’s a public health concern,” King said.
“Some related studies also found that among healthcare
workers, the poorest, with the least incomes, had the most direct
contact with patients and yet were the most likely not to be
vaccinated,” King said. “It’s a social justice
matter.”
Desser said the study indicates that something needs to be done
about the ease of getting vaccinated.
“It would be in the public’s best interest for more
healthcare workers to receive the vaccine each year, but it’s
a hard thing for people at places that don’t offer it on
site,” she said.
The Ashe Center and UCLA campus is “very well taken care
of,” she said.
“Almost all of the Ashe staff who provide direct patient
care receive the flu vaccine every year,” and all staff have
access to it, Desser said.
The influenza virus, known as the seasonal flu, affects between
5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population, and results in
approximately 36,000 deaths a year.
In September 2005, the Center for Disease Control identified
healthcare workers as part of a priority group that includes the
elderly, young children and pregnant women, who were at highest
risk for contracting the flu and therefore encouraged to receive
the vaccine first.
According to the CDC Web site the best time to get vaccinated
for December to March flu season is October, but any time after
that can still be beneficial.
The Ashe Center, which orders 2,500 doses of the flu vaccine
every year to give to UCLA students, faculty and staff for free,
currently has 56 doses left.
“It’s something that needs to be made convenient,
which is why we try to make it available on campus,” Desser
said.