The number of healthcare workers receiving the COVID-19 and flu vaccines decreased during the 2023-2024 cold and flu season, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC’s data revealed that only 15.3% of acute hospital workers and 10.5% of nursing home personnel received a COVID-19 vaccine for this season. During the 2022-2023 season, 17.8% of acute hospital workers and 22.8% nursing home personnel received a COVID-19 vaccine.
While flu vaccine rates were greater than the rates of COVID-19 vaccination, overall rates were “persistently below the levels during the prepandemic period.”
According to the data, the flu vaccine rate for hospital workers in 2019-2020 was 91%, while the rate of vaccination among “health care personnel in acute care hospitals remained stable at approximately 81%” since the 2022-2023 season, the report said.
The CDC noted that healthcare personnel indicated in a recent survey that they have “low confidence in the effectiveness, safety, and benefit of COVID-19 vaccination.”
Last month, the CDC recommended another COVID-19 vaccine, marketed for those 65 years old or older and for those who are “moderately or severely immunocompromised.”
