Assisted living and other long-term care and healthcare employers should recommend vaccination against influenza and COVID-19 to their employees and should consider requiring employees to obtain the vaccines, including boosters, maintain the authors of an article published Friday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
“Annual influenza vaccination and staying up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccines are critical in prevention of severe disease as well as reduction of influenza and COVID-19–related morbidity and mortality among HCP and their patients,” the authors wrote. Three of the four authors work for the CDC, and the fourth works for research company Leidos Inc.
Healthcare professionals working in long-term care settings — which the researchers defined as assisted living communities, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, as well as home health agencies and home healthcare — had the lowest rate of flu vaccination (66.4%) among healthcare settings in 2021-2022. By comparison, flu vaccination was highest (92%) among healthcare professionals working in hospitals.
“Coverage was higher among HCP who reported an employer requirement for influenza vaccination (96.8%) than among those who reported an employer recommendation (76.5%) or no recommendation or requirement for vaccination (48.1%),” the authors said, adding, however, that healthcare professionals working in long-term care “were less likely to report requirements for receipt of any vaccine compared with HCP working in hospitals and ambulatory care settings.”
Although there was a 10% increase in flu shot requirements among healthcare employees from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, “requirements for influenza vaccination were lower than were those for COVID-19 vaccination in most work settings, especially LTC settings,” the authors wrote.
Regarding COVID-19 vaccination, the authors noted that all healthcare work settings, including long-term care, saw coverage with the primary COVID-19 vaccination series of 80% or more, “possibly, in part, because of the prioritization of HCP when the U.S. vaccination program commenced in December 2020 and a relatively high prevalence of employers required COVID-19 vaccination among HCP.”
Workplaces that found success in requiring primary COVID-19 vaccination could consider requiring COVID-19 booster doses as well, “to restore protection among HCP that has declined since their previous vaccination,” the authors wrote. “In addition, many LTC settings now have experience implementing COVID-19 vaccine requirements and could consider these requirements for influenza vaccination to improve influenza vaccination coverage.”
