• Recommendations for HCP to get an annual flu vaccine have been in place since 1981.
• Reducing influenza transmission from HCP to patients has become a top priority in Michigan.
• Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) developed an accreditation requirement for influenza vaccine to be offered to all staff and licensed independent practitioners, effective January 1, 2007.
• Vaccination of HCP has been associated with reduced work absenteeism and fewer deaths among nursing home and elderly hospitalized patients.

Factors that increase the likelihood of transmission from HCP to patients:

• 3 out of 5 HCP are not vaccinated!
• Only about 50% of persons infected with flu will develop classical symptoms of influenza.
• Individuals remain infectious 5 or more days after symptoms appear.
• HCP are more likely than staff in other areas to work through illness or return to work sooner after illness.

Become a Flu Fighter.  Protect yourself, your colleagues, and your patients.   Use these materials to implement an influenza vaccination campaign in your facility and to ensure that everyone in your facility is fully immunized.

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Introductory Letter from MDCH Medical Director

Letter from MDCH Medical Director on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

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