GUELPH – The general public is getting the message and getting their flu shots, but some healthcare workers are lagging behind.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) reports that 94,081 doses of influenza vaccine were distributed in this region – an increase of 4,654 doses from last year.
Of those, 4,842 doses were administered by public health nurses and 33,090 by pharmacists. Others were distributed to doctors and through workplace immunization programs.
But uptake by healthcare workers continues to be low and that is problematic, said Dr. Nicola Mercer, WDGPH Chief Medical Officer for WDGPH.
“It’s an ongoing battle and it has the potential to impact on care,” she said at the board of health meeting on March 4.
She said all staff at the health unit are mandated to be vaccinated unless they have allergies or other underlying health conditions, but that is not the case at all healthcare institutions.
Immunizing healthcare providers reduces illness for their colleagues and their patients and decreases the risk of outbreaks in acute care and long-term care facilities.
The board voted to send a letter to healthcare organizations urging them to encourage their staff to be immunized against influenza.
According to a staff report presented to the board, staff immunization rates at long-term care facilities in the region range from a low of 30 per cent at Caressant Care Fergus to 96% at Wellington Terrace.
Long-term care facilities are not required to report their numbers to public health, so the following Guelph and Wellington County list may be incomplete:
– Caressant Care Arthur, 90%;
– Caressant Care Fergus, 30%;
– Caressant Care Harriston, 87%;
– Eden House Care Facility, 87%;
– Elliott Home for the Aged, 89%;
– LaPointe-Fisher Nursing Home, 66%;
– Morriston Park Nursing Home, 94%;
– Riverside Glen Long- Term Care, 70%;
– Royal Terrace Long-Term Care, 93%;
– Saugeen Valley Nursing Centre, 91%; and
– Wellington Terrace Home for the Aged, 96%.
The staff immunization rates for hospital workers are:
– Groves Memorial Community Hospital, 70%;
– Guelph General Hospital, 50%;
– Headwaters Health Care Centre, 35%;
– Homewood Health Centre, 52%;
– Louise Marshall Hospital, 77%;
– Palmerston and District Hospital, 79%; and
– St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph, 37%.
