Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, in addition to those over the age of 65, were urged yesterday to make arrangements to get the flu vaccine as soon as possible. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, reports.
The appeal came from the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, at the launch of this year's influenza vaccination campaign.
The vaccine, which reduces by 70 to 90 per cent the chance of acquiring influenza, is free to healthcare workers and all those over 65, regardless of whether they have a medical card.
Over half a million doses of the vaccine have been acquired by the Department of Health this year. The drive to ensure healthcare workers are also vaccinated this year comes in the wake of a recent study in the North Eastern Health Board region, which found just 17.5 per cent of workers in one hospital received the jab.
The study, which was published in the Irish Medical Journal, said vaccination of healthcare workers had been associated with reduced work absenteeism and fewer deaths among nursing home patients. Yet the single biggest reason for not availing of the vaccine was that the healthcare workers did not consider themselves at high risk. Nurses had the lowest uptake of all staff groups in the study and offered fear of side effects as a reason for not getting vaccinated.
"This is an important factor and one that needs to be addressed by ongoing and creative means to educate all staff with regard to the proven safety and lack of side effects of the vaccine," the study said.
Mr Martin said yesterday the vaccines have already been distributed to health boards and GP surgeries. "I would also urge GPs to ensure that at-risk patients in their practice are contacted and invited to attend for vaccination as soon as possible," he said.
At-risk groups include persons aged 65 years or older, those with specific chronic illness such as chronic heart, lung or kidney disease, and those with a suppressed immune system.