From MedPage Today:
If hospitals and clinics can’t get 90% of their employees to get an annual flu shot, they should “strongly consider” making the vaccine mandatory, a federal vaccines panel voted Wednesday.
The National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) voted 12-2, with one panelist abstaining, that if hospitals and healthcare facilities implement a number of NVAC-endorsed recommendations — including staff training and trying to create a culture where flu shots are the norm — and still fail to get 90% of workers vaccinated, they should consider a mandate.
The controversial vote from NVAC came during a two-day meeting at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) where nurses and union leaders told the panel that healthcare workers should not be forced to get a flu shot. They also pointed to the relatively low efficacy rate of the most widely prescribed flu shot — just 59%, according to a recent meta-analysis.
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