Is it ethically permissible to mandate influenza vaccination for health care workers?
The World Health Organization estimates that influenza causes severe illness in 3 million to 5 million people and 250,000 to 500,000 deaths annually.1 Seasonal influenza epidemics affect 5% to 20% of the US population annually and result in more than 225,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths.2 In persons older than 65 years, influenza is related to one in every 20 deaths.3 Vaccination is the most effective means of preventing infection and outbreaks of influenza; it is also the most effective method for preventing transmission of the virus to patients by health care workers.2 Influenza vaccination is reported to confer 70% to 90% protection in healthy people younger than 65 years.4 Despite this, the percentage of health care workers who are vaccinated annually against influenza remains at less than 50%. Hofman and colleagues reviewed 32 studies on immunization rates of health care workers conducted between 1985 and 2002; the rates reported by these studies varied from 2.1% to 82%.5 In
Related Questions
- Are there any health care workers who may not work following vaccination? Any limits on health care workers providing care to immunosuppressed patients?
- Does the requirement for signed declination by health care workers who do not want to receive seasonal influenza vaccine apply to H1N1 vaccine?
- Do most health care workers including nurses get an influenza immunization every year?
