Seasonal Influenza Vaccination (SIV) is the most effective measure to build up one’s defense against influenza and to prevent its complications. The vaccine efficacy ranges from 60-80% depending on the closeness of the vaccination strains and the circulating strains. The Government of the HKSAR implemented the Government Vaccination Programme (GVP) by providing free or subsidized SIV and pneumococcal vaccination to eligible persons every year since 2009. Hospital Authority (HA) has also been supporting the GVP to provide the vaccination to the eligible groups, including Health Care Workers (HCWs).
SIV of HCWs constitutes a significant infection preventive measure. It protects both HCWs and patients by preventing onward transmission of influenza and to reduce the chance of outbreak occurrence in healthcare settings. However, the vaccination uptake rate of HCWs in HA remained low and unsatisfactory when compared to UK and the USA. In 2017/18, around 32% of HCWs in HA had received SIV; while 68.7% and 78.4% of HCWs in UK and the USA received it respectively.
Therefore, for the GVP 2018/19, HA determined to work proactively on new initiatives to encourage vaccination among HCWs. With the support from top management, multidisciplinary approaches were adopted. Infection control teams collaborated with various departments to launch a series of promotional activities. These promulgation strategies aimed to raise the awareness of the importance of SIV; rectify the myths; enhance the accessibility and to recognize the effort and creativity of colleagues responsible for the promotion. We saw a flamboyant display of all sorts of promulgation materials. As a result of these campaigns, the uptake rate of HCWs in HA increased significantly. In this session I will share with you the promulgation plans and the results.
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