Seniors Say Flu Shot a Must for Healthcare Staff

A new survey estimates that almost 66 percent of Americans older than 50 think all nursing community employees should get annual flu vaccinations, reports HealthDay News . More than 60 percent of poll respondents said all nursing and/or assisted living community residents also should get vaccinated, while 70 percent said if they knew that 33 percent of the staff at a nursing community was not vaccinated it would make them less likely to live there. In addition, a majority of respondents said the flu vaccine should be offered to workers at no cost, and those who do not avail themselves of the vaccine should be required to stay at home whenever they become ill. These results suggest that care communities should protect vulnerable individuals — or potentially risk losing business, says the University of Michigan Professor Preeti Malani. "I encourage everyone to ask nursing communities and other long-term care communities about their vaccination policies," she said. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculates that less than 70 percent of long-term care workers are routinely vaccinated against the flu, despite the agency's recommendation that everyone older than six months do so. By comparison, about 90 percent of hospital staffers get flu vaccinations every year.