Health workers asked to practise what they preach

This year’s flu vaccination campaign, which begins on Monday, aims to significantly raise how many health professionals take the treatment, which currently stands at only 23%. The campaign hopes to boost this figure to at least 40%, especially after the success last year in which the number of pregnant women getting vaccinated was increased from 5% to 22%. At the same time, the campaign will continue to vaccinate people in the other two high risk groups, the over-60s and the chronically ill.

“Health professionals are very exposed to infection, they can become transmitters of the virus and as a group set an example,” said the public health secretary, Joan Guix, yesterday, who added: “The flu is no trivial illness, it is potentially serious and getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent it.”

The health department says doctors, nurses, chemists, social workers, administrative staff, and cleaning and maintenance personnel, who are in contact with patients in primary care centres and hospitals, are up to five times more likely to get the illness and could be responsible for up to 17% of infections. As a result this year’s flu vaccination campaign will see messages displayed in centres, vaccination days, fixed and mobile vaccination units and recruiting the involvement of clinic heads.