Flu Vaccination Challenge DECEMBER BLOG: HOLIDAY HEADACHES

• 12/2/2009
• Author: Dr. William Schaffner
• Category: FLU Vaccination
• 19942 Views
• 0 Comments
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The holidays are here, and you know what that means: lots of family and friends, eating, gift giving and stress. According to the CDC, public vaccination rates drop off steeply after Thanksgiving because we are all focused on the holidays. Your staff may claim they are too busy to get a seasonal flu vaccination, but this month, it’s more important than ever to encourage them to receive the vaccination to help avoid missed days from work and avoid transmitting the flu to their patients. In my November post, I talked about seasonal flu vaccination as a patient safety issue. This month, I encourage you to inform your staff not to let the seasonal flu take away time that could be spent with family and friends. In addition, December 6-12 is National Influenza Vaccination Week. This week was designated by the CDC to highlight the importance of continuing flu vaccination, as well as foster greater use of flu vaccine through the month of December and beyond. Take advantage of the holidays and National Influenza Vaccination Week as a time to think of creative programs you can do with your staff to get them vaccinated. Have you come up with any fun holiday ideas? Please feel free to share your ideas and questions with your fellow Challengers below. Happy Holidays!
(Joint Commission Resources received funding and other support from GlaxoSmithKline for the Flu Vaccination Challenge initiative.)