There are still far fewer Alberta Health Services (AHS) employees getting immunized against influenza than the province would like.
Sixty-three per cent of Alberta’s 98,760 AHS employees were immunized in 2016-17, which falls well short of the province’s goal to have 80 per cent of staff receive a flu shot.
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The most recent statistic is consistent with the previous three years, when between 60 and 64 per cent of AHS employees were immunized.
The influenza vaccine is an effective way to reduce the risk of transmission of the influenza virus, AHS said.
“Health-care workers are at an increased risk of both being infected and infecting others. A better understanding of influenza coverage among staff at AHS will help increase the immunization rather for future years,” an AHS statement read in the most recent immunization report.
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Alberta health-care workers aren’t mandated to be vaccinated, unlike B.C. where employees either have to get vaccinated or wear a mask during influenza season when in a patient care area.
Since the influenza prevention policy was passed in 2012 in B.C., the province has seen its vaccination rate rise to between 75 and 85 per cent among employees from below 50 per cent.
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