High influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare workers in acute care hospitals in Finland, seasons 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20

Abstract

Background Influenza vaccination is widely recommended for healthcare workers (HCWs) in European countries, but the coverage is not always satisfactory. In Finland, a new act was introduced in March 2017, according to which it is the employer’s responsibility to appoint only vaccinated HCWs for servicing vulnerable patients. Aim We determined the influenza vaccination coverage among HCWs in Finnish acute care hospitals in three influenza seasons after introduction of the act. Methods We analysed data collected by an internet-based survey sent annually to all Finnish acute care hospitals and described the influenza vaccination coverage among HCWs during seasons 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20. We calculated mean coverage per healthcare district and season. Results In season 2017/18, 38 of 39 hospitals, in 2018/19, 35 of 36 hospitals and in 2018/19 31 of 33 hospitals provided data. The mean influenza vaccination coverage was 83.7% (SD: 12.3) in season 2017/18, 90.8% (SD: 8.7) in 2018/19 and 87.6% (SD: 10.9) in season 2019/20. There was no significant increase or decrease in the mean coverage across the three seasons. The differences between districts were only significant in 2018/19 (p < 0.005). Conclusions The coverage of influenza-vaccinated HCWs in Finnish hospitals was high in all three seasons and the current legal situation (semi-mandatory system) in Finland seems to provide a good background for this. Data collection should be maintained and improved for further monitoring.

Qualitative Insights into Vaccine Uptake of Nursing Staff in Long-Term Care Facilities in Finland

“…Accordingly, they can also help to reduce the need to rely on vaccine mandates such as semi-mandatory vaccination for HCW that was implemented in Finland from January 2022 onwards or the semi-mandatory influenza vaccine policy that came into effect in 2017 [ 75 , 76 ]. Semi-mandatory means that vaccines are obligatory but can be avoided through certain procedures such as testing or the use of protective barriers.…”

Influenza vaccination from the perspective of health care workers at university hospitals

“…[45,46]. Objectively, various (full or partial) mandatory influenza vaccinations programs in HWs substantially increase vaccination coverage: in the United States and the United Kingdom the vaccination rate is above 75% and in Finland it exceeded 90% [17,18,[47][48][49][50][51][52]. Higher vaccination rates not only improves protection of HWs and patients but also builds up the trust in health care and strengthen the role of vaccines in prophylactics [53].…”

Identifying preferred features of influenza vaccination programs among clinicians practicing traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine: A discrete choice experiment (Preprint)

“…However, despite efforts to promote influenza vaccination among HCWs, uptake rates remain unsatisfactory in China. In the 2019/2020 season, only 61% of Chinese clinicians got vaccinated compared to 87.9% in Finland and 91.3% in United States 6,7,8 . Barriers to influenza vaccine uptake among healthcare workers in China include out-of-pocket costs and workplace regulations.…”