Copyright The Oregonian
Nearly half of Oregon’s health care workforce skipped the flu shot. That’s according to new data from the Oregon Health Authority, which shows that flu vaccination rates among frontline workers in hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, dialysis centers and skilled nursing facilities have fallen sharply over the past five years. Just 54% of the 150,000 workers who reported their vaccination status during 2024-25 respiratory virus season received a flu shot. That’s an 11-point drop from the previous season and a 36-point plunge from the 2019-2020 season. The data comes from a statewide reporting system that tracks how many workers were vaccinated, how many declined and how many had no record on file. Hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, dialysis clinics, psychiatric facilities and skilled nursing homes are required to report that data to the state each year. Health officials say the continued decline means medically fragile patients may be at greater risk of severe illness or death if flu spreads in care settings. Low vaccination rates can also lead to workplace outbreaks that sideline staff and strain hospitals and clinics, according to Dr. Dat Tran, medical director of the state program that tracks and works to prevent health care-associated infections. “This is very worrying,” Tran said. “We are not seeing flu vaccination rates among health care workers keeping pace with flu activity during respiratory virus seasons.” Some workplaces reported higher vaccination rates than others. Outpatient surgery centers, for example, had the highest rate at 61%, followed by hospitals at 60%. Dialysis centers reported 50%, and both nursing facilities and inpatient psychiatric facilities reported 30%. Overall, 18% of workers declined the shot during the 2024-25 season, and 28% had no vaccination record on file, state data show. “It’s really important that health care workers step up and get vaccinated,” Tran said. “They all want to protect their patients and prevent a potentially catastrophic outbreak of influenza.” Tran said flu vaccines don’t just protect patients, but the workers themselves. He said vaccination helps prevent worker illness, lost productivity and added health care costs. Tran said health care facilities can improve rates by offering free or on-site vaccines, tracking vaccination records for all workers and requiring declination forms for those who choose not to get vaccinated. The state has also developed a toolkit that health care employers can use to help improve employee vaccination rates at their facilities. Officials say that the state is still measuring progress against an older federal goal that aimed for 90% flu vaccination among health care workers. Newer national health targets no longer include a flu-shot benchmark for this group.
