Did You Get It?

FDA recently posted a statement and a video on its website that urge healthcare organizations to make sure influenza vaccination programs are available to healthcare personnel (HCP). A portion of the statement is printed below. Links to English- and Spanish-language versions of the complete statement are given at the end of this IAC Express article, as are links to the video and a related toolkit.
  
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  Despite the benefits of immunization, CDC estimates that only 40
  percent of the nation’s HCP are vaccinated each year. Studies
  have shown that low vaccination rates among HCP contribute to
  influenza outbreaks in hospitals and other healthcare settings,
  needlessly putting patients at an increased risk of contracting
  influenza and suffering from its potential major complications.
  Annual immunization of caregivers protects employees, their
  families and patients, and may reduce influenza-related deaths
  among persons at high risk for complications from influenza.
 
  HCP refers to all paid and unpaid persons working in healthcare
  settings who have the potential for exposure to patients and/or
  to infectious materials, including body substances, contaminated
  medical supplies and equipment, contaminated environmental
  surfaces, or contaminated air. . . .
 
  One hospital evaluated the impact of vaccination on HCP and
  hospitalized patients and saw an increase in immunization
  coverage from 4 percent to 67 percent over 12 flu seasons.
  During that timeframe, laboratory-confirmed influenza cases
  among HCP decreased from 42 percent to 9 percent. In addition,
  nosocomial (hospital-acquired) influenza cases among patients
  decreased from 32 percent to 0 percent.
 
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  To access the statement in English, go to:
  http://www.fda.gov/cber/flu/fluhealthcare.htm
 
  To access the statement in Spanish, go to:
  http://www.fda.gov/cber/flu/fluhealthcareesp.htm
 
  To access the video, go to:
  http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/psn/transcript.cfm?show=81#4
 
  To access a related resource from the Department of Health and
  Human Resources titled Health Care Personnel Initiative to
  Improve Influenza Vaccination Toolkit, go to:
  http://www.hhs.gov/ophs/programs/initiatives/vacctoolkit/index.html