Healthcare personnel working in long-term care settings have the lowest rate of influenza vaccine coverage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found.
The CDC estimates that 64% of LTC workers received a flu vaccine during the 2014-2015 flu season, despite its urging that all healthcare workers receive a vaccine. An estimated 77% of all healthcare personnel, including medical and nonmedical staff, reported receiving a vaccine. Hospital workers reported the highest amount of vaccine coverage at 90%.
Long-term care workers were also the least likely to report that their employer required vaccination, or made vaccinations available to employees on site.
During a National Foundation of Infectious Diseases press conference on Thursday, officials urged healthcare workers to get vaccinated, especially those working with older adults. The rate of flu-related hospitalizations for people over 65 last year was the highest it had ever been, officials said.
