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Flu jab law mooted
Deaths spark move to make influenza vaccine compulsory for aged care staff.
Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced the government will investigate ways to make the flu vaccine compulsory for workers in aged care facilities.
The investigation follows the deaths of seven elderly residents at St John’ s Village in Wangaratta in Victoria and reports of fatalities from flu at Uniting AgeWell’ s Strathdevon facility in Tasmania. Minister for Aged Care Ken Wyatt said while older people are always vulnerable to the flu, the many deaths this year are unacceptable.
Hunt said he will work with medical authorities, healthcare workers and aged care providers on how to make jabs compulsory
for those working in aged care facilities. Australia’ s chief medical officer, professor Brendan Murphy, will spearhead the investigation.
“ We cannot continue to have a situation where people whose immunity is already low are at risk from others who may be infected,” Hunt said.
COTA Australia backed the move. Chief executive Ian Yates said he had for some time been concerned that rates of flu vaccination among aged care staff, and even among doctors who visit facilities, were unacceptably low and inconsistent between facilities.
“ Aged care residents are especially vulnerable to the flu and all precautions must be put in place to protect them,” Yates said.“ Vaccination is less effective among very old people, which makes them more susceptible if exposed to others with symptoms, and many residents have other health issues that make them more vulnerable.
“ Keeping flu out of aged care homes is also critical because it can spread so quickly from resident to resident.
“ Aged care providers have a legal obligation to achieve optimum physical health for care recipients and to ensure they live in a safe environment.
“ In our view, this includes ensuring that staff are not carriers of the flu virus into nursing homes.”
The health minister’ s office said 90,000 cases of influenza have been reported this year, which is 2.5 times the amount recorded in the same period last year. ■ agedcareinsite. com. au 9