Seventy per cent of health care workers have had flu shots
Posted November 30, 2014 8:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – For the third flu season in a row, health care workers and visitors are supposed to get flu shots or wear masks when inside BC health care facilities.
This year’s flu season officially kicks off Dec. 1.
Provincial medical health officer Dr. Perry Kendall says between 65 and 70 percent of workers have received a vaccine, roughly the same percentage at this point last year.
But he expects more will get the shot as the season progresses.
“I think it’s less controversial than a couple of years ago. And this year health care workers know that we are probably facing the A-H-3-N-2 strain which can be serious for older people.”
He says it’s too early to determine if the policy is lowering flu rates.
“What we do know is that for the last two years, we’ve had less absenteeism of health care workers over that flu period.”
He notes that the fewer people who call in sick, the better off the health care system is.
