Pneumonia and the flu kill tens of thousands of Americans every year, racking up billions of dollars in medical expenses and even more in lost produce.
But new research from the University of Georgia shows that state laws that promote flu vaccines for hospital workers can significantly reduce the number of flu-related deaths.
Covering 23 years, the study looked at the rate of mortality from influenza and seizures in the peak flu season (from December through March each year), comparing changes in deaths over time in all 13 states and Washington, DC, which adopted laws to accommodate the changes. in mortality in lawless states. All states that have passed laws require flu vaccines to be offered to hospital workers. Eleven took a step further by ordering workers to be vaccinated or requiring rejection documents, with three requiring unvaccinated staff to wear surgical masks during the flu season .
The findings coincide with previous research suggesting that hospital workers may be vectors of the spread of disease within their hospitals and even in their communities. In states that receive flu-controlled hospital staff saw the largest reduction in deaths from flu and pneumonia. On average, the adoption of a law promoting vaccination reduced mortality by about two deaths per 100,000 people, with the reductions appearing mainly among older adults.
“The elderly are very vulnerable to the flu and are generally less responsive to the vaccine,” said Emily Lawler, associate author of the study and an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and UGA International. ”This study suggests that vaccination of hospital staff against influenza reduces the spread of influenza infection and helps protect this vulnerable population. . “
A federal mandate requiring hospital staff to get a flu shot is likely to reduce more flu-related deaths.
This study did not closely examine why some health care workers refuse vaccines. However, if the COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to prevent the spread of disease – so far it has only been proven that they will protect the recipient of the vaccine from infection – then carriers could -vaccination hospital surgery to be necessary to significantly reduce COVID-19 transmission and mortality. in communities across the country.
“Tighter policies will lead to higher vaccination rates among health care workers,” Lawler said. “Our results are consistent with the notion that these stronger laws lead to a greater reduction in influenza-related mortality.”
Mandatory vaccinations do not come without some controversy, however. In some cases, health care workers refuse to be vaccinated. It is an issue with the flu shot, which varies in effectiveness each year due to the small number of vaccine developers being able to introduce several strains of the virus in a particular scene. . But it is also happening with the new COVID-19 vaccines at an incredibly high level among health care professionals, nursing home workers and other frontline workers.
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This study was published in the History of internal treatments. Co-authors were Mariana Carrera, of Montana State University, and Corey White, of California State Polytechnic University.
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