Importance of Employee Vaccination against Influenza in Preventing Cases in Long-Term Care Facilities

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 990-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Wendelboe ◽  
Catherine Avery ◽  
Bernardo Andrade ◽  
Joan Baumbach ◽  
Michael G. Landen

Objective.Employees of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) who have contact with residents should be vaccinated against influenza annually to reduce influenza incidence among residents. This investigation estimated the magnitude of the benefit of this recommendation.Methods.The New Mexico Department of Health implemented active surveillance in all of its 75 LTCFs during influenza seasons 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. Information about the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza and the proportion vaccinated of both residents and direct-care employees in each facility was collected monthly. LTCFs reporting at least 1 case of influenza (defined alternately by laboratory confirmation or symptoms of influenza-like illness [ILI]) among residents were compared with LTCFs reporting no cases of influenza. Regression modeling was used to obtain adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between employee vaccination coverage and the occurrence of influenza outbreaks. Covariates included vaccination coverage among residents, the staff-to-resident ratio, and the proportion of filled beds.Results.Seventeen influenza outbreaks were reported during this 2-year period of surveillance. Eleven of these were laboratory confirmed (n = 21 residents) and 6 were defined by ILI (n = 40 residents). Mean influenza vaccination coverage among direct-care employees was 51% in facilities reporting outbreaks and 60% in facilities not reporting outbreaks (P = .12). Increased vaccination coverage among direct-care employees was associated with fewer reported outbreaks of laboratory-confirmed influenza (aOR, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.95-0.99]) and ILI (aOR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.96-1.00]).Conclusions.High vaccination coverage among direct-care employees helps to prevent influenza in LTCFs.

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Wendelboe ◽  
Carl Grafe ◽  
Micah McCumber ◽  
Michael P. Anderson

Introduction. Vaccinating healthcare workers (HCWs) in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) may effectively induce herd immunity and protect residents against influenza-related morbidity and mortality. We used influenza surveillance data from all LTCFs in New Mexico to validate a transmission dynamics model developed to investigate herd immunity induction.Material and Methods. We adjusted a previously published transmission dynamics model and used surveillance data from an active system among 76 LTCFs in New Mexico during 2006-2007 for model validation. We used a deterministic compartmental model with a stochastic component for transmission between residents and HCWs in each facility in order to simulate the random variation expected in such populations.Results. When outbreaks were defined as a dichotomous variable, our model predicted that herd immunity could be induced. When defined as an attack rate, the model demonstrated a curvilinear trend, but insufficiently strong to induce herd immunity. The model was sensitive to changes in the contact parameterβbut was robust to changes in the visitor contact probability.Conclusions. These results further elucidate previous studies’ findings that herd immunity may not be induced by vaccinating HCWs in LTCFs; however, increased influenza vaccination coverage among HCWs reduces the probability of influenza infection among residents.


Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Joël Belmin ◽  
Pierre Lutzler ◽  
Patrick Hidoux ◽  
Olivier Drunat ◽  
Carmelo Lafuente-Lafuente ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) experienced severe burden from the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 is a major issue for their residents. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The objective of this study was to estimate the vaccination coverage rate among the residents of French LTCFs. <b><i>Method:</i></b> Participants and settings: 53 medical coordinators surveyed 73 LTCFs during the first-dose vaccination campaign using the BNT162b2 vaccine, conducted by health authorities in January and early February 2021. Measurements: in all the residents being in the LTCF at the beginning of the campaign, investigators recorded age, sex, history of clinical or asymptomatic COVID-19, serology for SARS-CoV-2 or severe allergy, current end-of-life situation, infectious or acute disease, refusal of vaccination by the resident or by the representative person of vaccine, and the final status, vaccinated or not. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Among the 4,808 residents, the average coverage rate for COVID-19 vaccination was 69%, and 46% of the LTCFs had a coverage rate &#x3c;70%. Among unvaccinated residents, we observed more frequently a history of COVID-19 or a positive serology for SARS-CoV-2 (44.6 vs. 11.2% among vaccinated residents, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), a history of severe allergy (3.7 vs. 0.1%, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), end-of-life situation (4.9 vs. 0.3%, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), current infectious or acute illness (19.6 vs. 0.3%, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), and refusal of vaccination by residents or representative persons (38.9 vs. 0.4%, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> About 3 out of 10 residents remained unvaccinated, and half of the LTCFs had a coverage rate &#x3c;70%. This suggests that COVID-19 will remain a threat to many LTCFs after the vaccination campaigns.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 839-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Levin-Rector ◽  
Beth Nivin ◽  
Alice Yeung ◽  
Annie D. Fine ◽  
Sharon K. Greene

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison McGeer ◽  
Daniel S Sitar ◽  
Susan E Tamblyn ◽  
Faron Kolbe ◽  
Pamela Orr ◽  
...  

Influenza is a major cause of illness and death in residents of long term care facilities for the elderly, in part because residents' age and underlying illness increase the risk of serious complications, and in part because institutional living increases the risk of influenza outbreaks. The administration of antiviral medications active against influenza to persons exposed to influenza has been shown to protect them effectively from illness, and mass antiviral prophylaxis of residents is an effective means of terminating influenza A outbreaks in long term care facilities. The only antiviral currently licensed in Canada for influenza prophylaxis is amantadine, a medication active against influenza A but not influenza B. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends that amantadine prophylaxis be offered to residents when influenza A outbreaks occur in long term care facilities. However, there remain a number of unanswered questions about how best to use amantadine for controlling influenza A outbreaks in long term care facilities. In addition, two members of a new class of antivirals called neuraminidase inhibitors have recently been licensed in Canada for the treatment of influenza, and are effective in prophylaxis. Issues in the use of amantadine in the control of outbreaks of influenza A in long term care facilities for the elderly are reviewed, and the potential uses of neuraminidase inhibitors in this setting are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol Volume 15 ◽  
pp. 2019-2029
Author(s):  
Dukyoo Jung ◽  
Jennie C De Gagne ◽  
Minkyung Lee ◽  
Hyesoon Lee ◽  
Kyuri Lee ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. e1-e4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Y Aoki ◽  
Upton D Allen ◽  
H Grant Stiver ◽  
Michel Laverdière ◽  
Danuta Skowronski ◽  
...  

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