News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has formally asked federal health officials to recommend making influenza vaccination mandatory for healthcare workers (HCWs), saying this is probably the best way to protect patients from contracting flu in healthcare facilities.

(CIDRAP News) – Reports from 17 states show that one major type of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) dropped 18% in the first half of 2009, suggesting that the healthcare system is making progress in the battle against infections in hospitals, national health officials announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – Although less than 40% of healthcare workers have received the pandemic flu vaccine, federal officials see promising signs about uptake of the seasonal vaccine and strategies for boosting vaccination rates in this group.

(CIDRAP News) – Requiring healthcare workers to get vaccinated against influenza is one effective way to boost their vaccination rates, and another may be to target immunization messages to workers who are relatively isolated from coworkers, according to reports being presented this week at a conference on healthcare-associated infections.