It's Flu Season, and Trenton Wants to Do Something About It

More than 400,000 New Jerseyans could get the flu this year, according to an estimate from the state Department of Health, which wants to see everyone over the age of six months vaccinated. But it's likely that far fewer will heed the advice: about 43 percent of the U.S. population and just over 63 percent of healthcare workers get the flu vaccine, according to estimates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC's goal is to get 90 percent of healthcare workers vaccinated, and a bill that passed the state Senate Health Committee last month requires healthcare facilities to offer flu vaccine to their workers. The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is among a number of hospitals that have boosted compliance by offering on-site flu vaccinations around the clock, according to Dr. Iris G. Udasin, director of employee health at the UMDNJ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway.

Udasin sends nurses with mobile vaccination units throughout the medical school, and individuals who get the shot get a green dot affixed to their identification badge -- so patients and colleagues know who's been vaccinated.

"Virtually all our healthcare workers take the flu vaccine," Udasin said. So far this season her staff has dispensed more than 1,000 doses, and she expects several thousand healthcare workers to be vaccinated throughout the winter flu season on UMDNJ's campuses "We do everything we can to make it convenient for people," Udasin said. "We bring it to you -- you don't have to come looking for us. If the department of surgery is having a conference, we go to the conference and vaccinate all the surgeons."

Udasin, a professor of environmental and occupational medicine, said "We absolutely impress on our medical students and residents that you're not just taking the vaccine for yourself, you're taking it for your patients. You went to medical school because you want to take care of people."

Kerry McKean Kelly, spokesperson for the New Jersey Hospital Association, said while the rate of flu vaccination for healthcare workers overall is about 63.5 percent, the rate for hospital workers is 71 percent. But she added "No one is satisfied the numbers. There is a great deal of room for improvement."

Under Senate bill 2984, healthcare facilities would be required to offer flu vaccinations to their employees, but workers are free to decline. The bill would apply to hospitals, nursing homes and home healthcare agencies.

Flu vaccines aren't recommended under the age of six months, and yesterday state Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd recommended that everyone older than six months get a flu shot this winter. Flu outbreaks tend to peak in January and February, so there is still time to get vaccinated, O'Dowd said. "Now that flu season has arrived, the best way to protect yourself, your family, and your coworkers is to get a flu shot."

She said the vaccination is especially important for at-risk groups including pregnant women; those under five and over 50; residents of nursing homes; and people with chronic ailments like HIV, asthma, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. The flu shot isn't recommended for anyone who has ever had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or is allergic to eggs.

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