Influenza Vaccination
What is Influenza?
Influenza is a common vaccine-preventable disease. Although it can be a mild disease, it can also cause very serious illness in otherwise healthy people.
Influenza can
require hospitalisation and can cause death. Healthcare workers can be a key cause of outbreaks in a variety of healthcare settings, including long-term care and residential aged care.
Transmission
People transmit influenza from person to person through
Virus-containing respiratory aerosols produced during coughing or sneezing
Direct contact with respiratory secretions
Vaccination programmes
Healthcare worker vaccination is a very important step in protecting the health of residents within the aged care facility.
Australia: It is now mandatory for every aged care provider to offer an annual influenza vaccine, free of charge, to all current employees.
New Zealand: The Ministry of Health will reimburse aged care providers for the cost of influenza vaccines given to employees who are not eligible for free vaccination (2022).