Flu vaccinations for aged care workers

All staff and volunteers of aged care facilities are recommended to be vaccinated against influenza each year.

This includes:

• administrative staff
• doctors
• nurses and carers
• therapists
• religious workers
• cleaning and kitchen personnel
• volunteers
• temporary and part time workers.

Why the vaccine is recommended

Healthcare workers are at significantly greater risk of getting the flu as they are more likely to come in contact with the virus because of their work.

They can also spread the flu and are likely to be an important source of infection in residents of aged care facilities. The elderly are at higher risk of serious complications from influenza infection including death.

Even without symptoms you can still transmit the virus to others. Infected healthy adults are infectious for 24 hours before symptoms begin and for five to seven days after becoming unwell.

Some people infected with influenza have mild or no symptoms. These people can still spread the virus to others.

Extra protection for residents

Elderly people do not respond as well to the influenza vaccine as healthy adults because the immune system weakens with age. This means they may not be as well protected against influenza infection as a younger person.

By getting the influenza vaccine, you are providing an extra layer of protection for your residents.

If you don’t get the flu, you can’t spread it. During times of high influenza infection activity, there is some evidence that vaccination of healthcare workers reduces the risk of influenza-like illness and death in elderly residents of aged care facilities.