Don't duck the flu shot

It's the beginning of the annual flu season, and physicians and other health workers should be the first to step forward for the vaccine.

Editorial. Oct. 22/29, 2007.

Things are looking up this flu season. Memories still may be fresh about the recent experiences in which vaccine distribution was marred by shortages, delays and other hiccups, but public health officials this year -- for the second year in a row -- are predicting an ample supply.

In total, 132 million doses are expected for 2007-08. That amount is 30 million more than was produced last year. Good news, indeed -- but it brings its own challenge. Specifically, it is absolutely crucial that this wealth of vaccine be used to protect as many people as possible. And that endeavor promises to require focus on several levels.

One can start with flu vaccination rates within the world of medicine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates among physicians and other health care workers have hovered around 40% for the last decade -- a very low figure. These professionals are, after all, in the trenches every day, seeing patients who have the flu or who are at high risk of catching it and having complications.

The bottom-line concern is that unvaccinated health professionals are more likely to contract the flu and to transmit it to susceptible patients. Thus, the first message is clear: All health care professionals should get vaccinated -- especially those who have direct patient contact -- unless they have a medical contraindication to the vaccine.

The oft-cited explanations of why they opt out mirror those of the general population. The excuses stem from a lack of awareness by health care workers that they are among the groups that need to be immunized, a lack of access, high cost and even the misperception that influenza is not a serious illness. Vaccine uptake among this group also varies widely by level and years of training, age, occupation and facility type. But when the risks involved are considered -- that one out of every five Americans gets the flu annually; that more than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year from its complications, including 20,000 children; and that about 36,000 people die -- the importance of flu vaccination efforts becomes even more clear.