What you need to know about flu vaccination
Here are some important takeaways about influenza vaccination from my conversation with the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
Flu
Affinity Living Group dominates on CDC Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll
Affinity Living Group accounts for 100 of the 130 long-term care facilities on the Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll of the Immunization Action Coalition, a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Signature HealthCARE’s new flu vaccine policy will affect everyone in every facility
A new influenza vaccination policy announced Wednesday by Louisville, KY-based Signature HealthCARE will apply to all employees, residents, patients, volunteers, vendors and others in any of the organization’s assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities.
Affinity Living Group mandates flu vaccines for company’s 4,000 employees
The organization said it is the first long-term care provider in North Carolina to provide mandatory employee vaccinations on this scale.
CDC: 2018–2019 flu season sets record for length
The 2018–2019 flu season isn’t over but already has set a record, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in its weekly flu report.
New flu vaccine could be medical breakthrough of the decade, NIH director says
Researchers have taken a potential step closer to what the director of the National Institutes of Health predicts will be one of the 10 medical breakthroughs of the next 10 years with the launch of the agency’s first clinical trial of a flu vaccine that may be able to provide long-lasting protection for all age groups from multiple influenza subtypes.
Severe outcomes reduced in those who receive flu vaccine but still become ill, study finds
The flu vaccine cannot prevent all cases of the respiratory illness, but it appears to reduce severe outcomes — intensive care unit admissions and death — among those who are vaccinated but still become infected with the virus, say the researchers behind a newly published study.
FDA approves a new flu drug for first time in almost 20 years
The FDA’s approval of a new flu treatment preceded the release of independent study results indicating that only 41% of U.S. older adults have been vaccinated this year. Antiviral drugs are not a substitute for yearly vaccination against influenza, the FDA said.
Mandate flu vaccination for long-term care workers and residents, group recommends
Assisted living organizations and other long-term care employers should mandate flu vaccination for staff members and make vaccination a condition of employment for workers, according to experts convened by the Gerontological Society of America.
Health officials to long-term care workers: Get vaccinated against flu
Federal health officials have a message for long-term care employers and employees: Don’t underestimate the importance of influenza vaccination.
