Drug Topics November 2, 2023
Care home staff play a role in transmission to elderly residents by bringing flu in from their communities, especially in winter. Vaccination can combat this risk, but not all care workers get flu shots.
Influenza can be serious for the elderly. Factors that increase their risk can include immunosenescence, nutritional deficiency, general frailty, and living in congregate care settings.Flu has higher mortality in people over 75, and outbreaks in care homes increase hospitalization rates and deaths among elderly residents, especially for those with pre-existing conditions.
A recent review published in Vaccine examined the barriers and enablers of getting care home staff their flu shots to protect patients.1
“During the 2019/20 influenza season, Public Health England (PHE) reported 3,936 acute respiratory...
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