The truth is, some doctors and nurses might talk the talk without walking the walk.
According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a significant chunk of health care professionals declined to get vaccinated against the influenza virus during the 2006-07 flu season, with only about 40 percent opting for a jab. It’s an “abysmal and profoundly sad” statistic, according to Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville, Tenn.
“Both the professional and ethical responsibility of all health care workers is to be vaccinated annually against influenza,” Schaffner said.
Vaccination serves to protect both patient and health care provider from becoming infected with influenza, as well as from transmitting the contagious virus to others.
There are legitimate reasons to steer clear of the needle. People with an egg allergy might avoid getting the vaccine because viruses for the flu shot are grown in eggs. People with Guillain-Barre syndrome — a disease that results in nerve damage — should avoid getting vaccinated as well, since respiratory illnesses can trigger an episode.
Source: ABC News, 9th December 2008.
