10.24.07

'Tis the season for influenza

Few people realize just how serious influenza can be. In the United States alone during a normal year, roughly 200,000 individuals are hospitalized and about 36,000 people die due to complications from influenza infection--most notably pneumonia. And since it's influenza season again, it's time to start thinking about flu shots, especially if you're in one of the high risk groups for serious complications of the infection. These include kids from age 6 months-5 years; pregnant women; older individuals (your risk of serious illness starts to increase at around the age of 50!); anyone with a chronic health condition; and anyone living in a nursing home or similar care facility. (I will note that there are groups that should avoid vaccination; see those recommendations also at the link above). Also recommended to receive the vaccination are anyone who lives or works with people in one of these high risk groups--including health care workers.

However, as noted in a new New York Times article, health care workers aren't much better at going in for their flu shots than the general public--nationwide, only 42% of workers are vaccinated, and rates are lower in some areas.

The author shares a story about her own elderly mother's treatment:

I confronted this shocking bit of news about health care providers last winter when, during the height of the flu season, my 82-year-old mother had to undergo hip surgery.

When her primary nurse recited a long list of reasons -- all erroneous -- about why she didn't need a flu shot, I requested a different nurse, one who had been vaccinated. But I soon discovered that not a single nurse on the hospital's orthopedic floor had been immunized.

This echoes my own experience--sometimes health care workers themselves simply aren't well-educated about who should be vaccinated and why. When I was pregnant with my first child, I attended a vaccine clinic at my graduate institution (a medical school, of all places). The nurse there actually refused to vaccinate me initially, though I was in a high-risk group for influenza complications (being a pregnant woman). I had to go back to my desk and print out a copy of the CDC's recommendations for high-risk individuals before she would immunize me.

What can be done? The author of the NY Times op-ed, Jane Zucker, recommends a two-fold approach. Individually, check if your own physician and nurses have been immunized, and if they haven't been, don't let them treat you (or your at-risk loved ones). At a higher level, however, Zucker suggests that Medicare and Medicaid payments for hospitals, and the hospital's own accreditation be dependent upon having a certain percentage of their staff vaccinated against seasonal influenza. Is that likely to happen any time soon? I doubt it, for a number of reasons--so in the meantime, be an informed consumer and talk to your health care professionals about both your vaccination needs and theirs.

Tags: influenza, vaccination

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