CDC: Health care worker vaccinations for flu, COVID-19 are low

Fewer than 25% of health care professionals working in acute care hospitals and nursing homes were up to date with COVID-19 vaccination during the 2022-23 flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Being up to date was defined as receiving a bivalent booster dose or completing a primary series in the prior two months. While 81% of health care professionals at acute care hospitals received a flu vaccine, less than half of nursing home workers did. The agency calls for tailored strategies to reach all health care workers with recommended vaccines. Separately, the CDC reported the percentage of kindergartners whose parents filled out exemptions for school-required vaccinations reached an all-time high during the 2022-34 school year. (CDC report, 11/10/23)