Palmo Anest

Flu Shot

MOH gives free influenza vaccination to it's staffs. Those who haven't get theirs can check with your hospital pharmacy or sister in-charge of your ward.

I found a letter from our pharmacy in the file unattended last few weeks ago and asked our ICU sister to contact our hospital pharmacy. In bolehland, almost nobody will going to give u anything (even if it is their job to do so) if we dun ask for it.

Received my flu shot (Fluarix) for 2006/2007 last week. It is an inactivated influenza vaccine contains:

A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1 N1 )-like strain:
A/New Caledonia/20/99 (IVR-116),
A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (H3 N2 )-like strain: A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (NYMCX-161),
B/Malaysia/2506/2004 – like strain: B/Malaysia/2506/2004.

Medscape has an interview report on this: Influenza Vaccination and Healthcare Workers: An Expert Interview With Kristin Nichol, MD, MPH, MBA

It was reported by CDC that vaccination levels for healthcare workers are typically less than 40% (and this is in kia-su ama-rica, think what would our figgure show?)

Dr. Nichol: I advocate very active and vigorous influenza vaccination programs within the healthcare setting for healthcare workers.

Seroprotection is generally obtained within 2 to 3 weeks. Flu season can start as early as Oct and end as late as May.

CDC has this to say about who should get the shot:

People at high risk for complications from the flu, including:
Children aged 6 months until their 5th birthday,
Pregnant women,
People 50 years of age and older, and
People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions;
People who live in nursing homes and other long term care facilities.

People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:
Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu (see above)
Household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated)
Healthcare workers.

There are still a lot of us (health care workers) don't want to get the shot for all sorts of reason...

Among people who were not immunized, we saw a variety of reasons, including unfamiliarity with the national recommendations, misperceptions about why they are in a target group [for vaccination], and misperceptions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccination.

Here's the definition of healthcare provider included in the ACIP and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) statement, published in February 2006:

A healthcare provider refers to all paid and unpaid persons working in healthcare settings who have the potential for exposure to infectious materials, including contaminated medical supplies. Healthcare providers might include but are not limited to: physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, technicians, emergency medical service personnel, dental personnel, pharmacists, laboratory personnel, autopsy personnel, students and trainees, contractual staff and persons, for example, clerical, dietary, housekeeping, maintenance and volunteers not directly involved in patient care but potentially exposed to infectious agents that can be transmitted to and from the healthcare provider.

So do u want to get ur shot?

posted by LT @ 7:58 PM