A charter has just been signed between the Minister of Health and the seven health orders in order to improve the vaccination of health professionals. The stakes are high, as only one in four professionals is vaccinated against seasonal flu.
It would be a question of showing the example a little. On October 18, Health Minister Agnès Buzyn signed a charter in favor of the vaccination of health professionals with the seven orders of health: midwives, pharmacists, physiotherapists, doctors, nurses, dentists and podiatrists.
This signature comes at the beginning of national vaccination campaign against seasonal flu, responsible approximately 13,000 deaths per year in France according to Public Health France. “By getting vaccinated themselves, not only are health professionals setting an example, but above all, they are protecting their patients,” said the Minister of Health, referring to an “ethical issue”.
1 professional out of 4 vaccinated
In six points, the charter reaffirms the importance for professional orders to invest in order to encourage professionals, “essential relays of [la] vaccination policy”, to get themselves vaccinated. It concerns above all highly contagious diseases such as influenza, whooping cough and measles, for which “high vaccination coverage is essential”.
In France, only one healthcare professional in four (26%) is vaccinated against the flu. A very insufficient rate, while campaigns are organized each year in establishments (hospitals, clinics, retirement homes, etc.). The reasons given are varied, ranging from lack of time and information to widespread mistrust of vaccines. This deficit is particularly glaring among nurses and caregivers.
A legal obligation… quite theoretical
In its 2018 report, the Court of Auditors recalled that the main vaccines (hepatitis B, influenza, DTP) have been compulsory for health professionals since 2005. An imperative that has never been well followed in practice. Regarding the flu, the obligation was even suspended by a Ministerial decree of 2006, still in force… By enlisting the support of professional organisations, Agnès Buzyn, faithful to her method, has chosen encouragement rather than constraint.
In 2016, the example of a retirement home (Ehpad) in Lyon highlighted the potentially dramatic consequences of the flu. Thirteen residents had died of the disease in just one year. If the vaccination rate of health professionals was consistent with it, or even slightly higher than the average for the sector (38% against 33%), this episode is a reminder of how dangerous the flu can be for the elderly.
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