Few hospital employees take flu vaccine
That only 12 percent of hospital workers choose to vaccinate against seasonal influenza can ultimately cause vulnerable patients to die, says Professor.
– The low proportion of healthcare professionals who are vaccinated is a global failure at national, regional and local level, two master students at the University of Stavanger (UiS) write in their thesis, reports NRK.
The proportion of people in general is 11 per cent, while among those working in the health sector, it is only 1 per cent higher, ie 12 per cent.
– It’s tragic. What is a trifle for healthy people can be crucial for vulnerable people, says Professor at UiS, Geir Sverre Braut, to the Channel.
– We assume that there are a several hundred deaths that could have been avoided every year if health professionals had been vaccinated.
Master students Gørill K. Amundsen and Henriette Helland, who are behind the thesis, argue that care takers must be taught that they have a responsibility to vaccinate themselves.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today