NHS staff who refuse to have the flu vaccine ahead of this winter are to be forced to explain themselves as they risk the lives of chronically ill and frail patients. Too many healthcare workers are refusing the preventative treatment, largely because of myths about the vaccine or their own faith in either infection control practices or a healthy lifestyle.
Fatal Flu
People infected with influenza can obviously pass it on to others, even if they show minimal or no symptoms.
An estimated average of 8,000 people a year die from flu in England alone and that figure has reached as high as 14,000.
While it can present as a bad infection for a healthy person, flu can be life-threatening to the frail, aged, or those with chronic illnesses or immunodeficiency.
As frontline healthcare workers are far more likely to be exposed and expose others – particularly people whose immune systems have been compromised – it’s important they get the vaccine. The jab gives 50-70% protection from influenza yet a huge number of frontline staff in the UK fail or refuse to get it.
The NHS is cracking down on those staff as part of its “intensified cross-NHS winter preparations”. Chief medical officers have written to 1.4m NHS staff telling them it is their “duty” to have the jab and that being vaccinated will now be the default staff position.
Anyone refusing the vaccine will have to explain why to their NHS Trust and a record will be kept of their abstention. This enforcement isn’t just for the sake of patients as it will protect colleagues from bearing the brunt of flu-related work absences. While the average number of NHS staff taking up the free jab reached a record 63% in 2016, some hospitals and trusts showed a rate as low as 20%, despite evidence showing healthcare worker vaccinations save patients’ lives.
The Worst Winter is Coming
The flu vaccine will be particularly important this year. Prof Sir Malcolm Grant, chairman of NHS England, announced in October that service leaders are “seriously concerned” this year’s flu season may be the worst in years, increasing hospital delays, infection and mortality rates.
Last year’s season was the worst on record for treatment delays despite being a mild winter. “We face winter better prepared than we have ever been but more scared than we have ever been,” he said.
“We have the strong likelihood of hospitals being inundated with people suffering flu.” Flu epidemics happen each year but their severity varies wildly and 2017 may prove a major crisis for a struggling health service.
The NHS’s fears are founded in the 2016 jab’s effectiveness and what medical workers are seeing abroad: Australia and New Zealand have just suffered their worst winter flu season in years. The Health Minister for the Australian state of Victoria called it a “horror”.
“The number of people with influenza has doubled,” she said.”People are not just getting the flu, they’re getting very, very sick with this flu.” Another concern comes from 2016’s poor flu jab performance where the vaccine failed to protect over-65s. An evaluation of last year’s winter programme showed that over-65s who had the jab fared no better than those without.
Each seasonal vaccine differs from the last with the World Health Organisation advising which strains of influenza have recently been widespread in the hope of making it more effective.
This year’s vaccine is similar to last year’s. Dame Sally Davies, England’s chief medical officer, says that while last year’s vaccine wasn’t very effective, it’s still “our best hope”. An over-65 herself, Davies has had the jab. “At this stage in the winter none of us know how it is going to go,” she warns.
Debunking the Myths
The myths surrounding the vaccine often put people off.
Importantly, it cannot give you flu; the vaccines used in the UK do not contain live virus, except one specialised vaccine used only in extensive children’s flu prevention programmes.
As the jab takes time to come into effect, it’s possible for people to contract the flu for 14 days afterwards.
The jab has an excellent safety record and its side effects are mild or non-existent, the most common symptom being soreness around the injection site and achey muscles.
Some believe that they don’t need it because they’re healthy but it’s not only sick people who die from flu: between 2009-11, up to a third of people killed by influenza had been considered healthy.
While good infection control practices and healthy lifestyle will help prevent the spread of flu, they are not enough and you can still spread the infection without showing any symptoms yourself. Importantly, the vaccine must be taken every year to be effective and it must reflect the current strains.
With around 21m at-risk people in England eligible for a free immunisation on the NHS, there’s no reason to wait – you put yourself and others at risk. If you are a care worker, pregnant, over 65 or at clinical risk due to illnesses ranging from asthma to HIV, contact your GP now.
Children aged 8-9 are also eligible and those aged 2-4 can have a free nasal spray vaccination instead. Inform your doctor if you have an egg allergy; most flu vaccines are propagated in eggs but egg-free vaccines are available.
by Jo Davey
The post NHS: Crackdown On Staff Refusing Flu Jab appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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