Declining Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Nurses, Hong Kong, 2006–2012 - Vol. 19 No. 10 - October 2013 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

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Declining Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Nurses, Hong Kong, 2006–2012 - Vol. 19 No. 10 - October 2013 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC


Table of Contents
Volume 19, Number 10–October 2013

Volume 19, Number 10—October 2013

Dispatch

Declining Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Nurses, Hong Kong, 2006–2012

Article Contents

• The Study
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Figure
• Table 1
• Table 2
• Suggested Citation

Shui Shan Lee , Ngai Sze Wong, and Sing Lee

Author affiliations: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People’s Republic of China

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract

Seasonal influenza vaccination of nurses in Hong Kong fell from 57% in 2005 to 24% in 2012, paralleling concern for adverse reactions associated with vaccination. Decreased acceptance of vaccination was most prominent among nurses who had less work experience and more frequent contact with patients.

Despite the moderate effectiveness of influenza vaccination against seasonal infections (1), vaccination remains a key prevention strategy for enhancing population preparedness. Vaccination of health care workers serves a dual purpose: self-protection and reduction of transmission in health care settings. Worldwide, vaccination coverage among health care workers is extremely variable: 20%–40% in western Europe (2), 16%–60% in Australia (3), 63.5% in the United States (4), and 30% in Hong Kong (5). The main problems with vaccination studies are their incomparability and the changing patterns over time. To determine patterns in Hong Kong, we investigated an 8-year trend of vaccination coverage among nurses.