Flu shots received by half of California health care workers

flu season

During the 2008-2009 flu season, according to a consumer group, just over half of workers received flu shots. For workers from nearly 250 and hospital groups, according to the Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, said that state public health department data shows an overall vaccination rate of just over 52 percent. Reports have stated that for preventing workers from transmitting flu to patients, a vaccination rate of about 80 per cent is needed and the present rate is below this. There were less than one-quarter of health workers according to some California hospitals who had received shots.

Vaccination rates that were more than 80 per cent were reported by only a handful of hospitals. Consumers Union also stated that more than 100 hospitals for which data was unavailable were not included in the report. CDC Director Thomas Frieden said, "We don't know what this season will hold, but we do expect there will be more vaccine available at a better time.”

Reports sated that it was believed that the 2009 H1N1 virus did not do as it was expected to but there were 274,000 people hospitalized and about 61 million people were sickened that led to 12,470 deaths.

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