(Reuters) – While the proportion of U.S. hospitals mandating that healthcare professionals (HCPs) receive the influenza vaccine increased from 2013 to 2017, the change was driven mainly by non-VA hospitals, researchers found.
Vaccination for HCPs was mandatory in 69.4% of non-VA hospitals in 2017, up from 44.3% in 2013, reported M. Todd Greene, PhD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues. However, there was no significant difference in the percentage of VA hospitals that required influenza vaccination and the percentage of VA hospitals with an influenza vaccine mandate for HCPs was 4.1% in 2017, the authors wrote in JAMA Network Open.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends vaccination against influenza for all HCPs, and multiple medical societies support this recommendation. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also wants 90% of all HCPs vaccinated by 2020.
Among non-VA hospitals, a significantly higher proportion of non-profit hospitals mandated vaccination for HCPs than for-profit hospitals in 2017.
