CDC: Flu vaccine as important to receive as to give

Health officials warn that the upcoming flu season could be severe.

By Stephanie Stapleton, AMNews staff. Oct. 13, 2003.

Physician, vaccinate thyself.

That is one of the messages the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hopes to convey as part of a recently launched influenza vaccination campaign.

The CDC reports that 85.5 million vaccine doses will be available early in the season, allowing the tiered vaccination approach that prioritized the flu shots for those at highest risk to be abandoned. As a result, health officials are encouraging people to get immunized as soon as possible. Health professionals are no exception. Studies show that only 38% of doctors, nurses and other health workers receive the annual flu shot.

This percentage is "an alarmingly low number," especially in the context of the CDC recommendations, said AMA President Donald J. Palmisano, MD, during a recent Washington, D.C., briefing by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and the National Coalition for Adult Immunization. "The AMA message to the 60% or more of those who are unvaccinated is to protect yourself and your patients by getting the vaccine."

The risk physicians face is twofold. First, they have an almost constantly high level of exposure. "Health care professionals are on the front line with at-risk patients in hospitals, nursing homes and medical offices," said Dr. Palmisano. And without the shot, health workers can transmit the bug to patients in their care. "These patients are often fragile."

Additionally, low vaccination levels among health professionals during a flu outbreak would translate into a real threat of having limited staff available to care for sudden patient increases.