Thursday, January 21, 2010

UK: Low Uptake Of Vaccine Among HCWs

 

 

# 4273

 

Not that it comes as a terrible surprise, given the telegraphing by polls of HCWs (Health Care Workers) sentiment over the fall (see UK: NHS Fears Low Uptake Of Vaccine By HCWs.   But as we pass the mid-point in January, only about 1/3rd of nurses and less than 40% of GPs in the UK have taken the H1N1 jab.

 

This from the BBC.

 

 

 

 

'Two thirds' of London nurses without swine flu jab

updated at 05:52 GMT, Thursday, 21 January 2010

 

Just one in three nurses in London have been vaccinated against swine flu, the NHS has admitted.

 

A BBC London Freedom of Information request has shown the majority of medical staff remain unprotected against the virus.

 

Although swine flu rarely kills healthy adults, it is dangerous to many patients in hospitals.

 

NHS London insisted the vaccine take-up was "encouraging" and rising, with more than 60,000 staff having had the jab.

 

But figures, seen by BBC London, reveal the take-up has hit a plateau, with a limited increase in the numbers of staff to have been vaccinated over the last month.

 

In mid-December, a total of 33% of frontline staff - including dentists, paramedics and so on - had been vaccinated.

 

By 18 January that figure was 40% - a rise of 7%.

The vaccine has been available to some sections of the public, such as asthmatics, since October.

 

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