Educating Your Workforce on Vaccines

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Just as the school year (whatever form it may take in your area) is quickly approaching, so too is the time of annual influenza vaccinations. While there is always concern by some about any type of vaccine (e.g., “I don’t want someone putting a virus into me”), there are distinct benefits for both you and your workforce to encourage employees to be vaccinated. Not only do vaccines help reduce significant illness for your employees, they help reduce absenteeism for your business. This is especially important as a recent survey showed that 50 percent of Americans are hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available. 

 

In today’s world where we are already facing significantly increased illnesses due to COVID-19, TAG sees it as important to begin providing information and education to your employees — to get them to begin thinking about, and getting comfortable with vaccines.

 

The following is information from CDC on vaccines:

Making the Vaccine Decision: Addressing Common Concerns

• Why to be vaccinated. CDC notes that the diseases (and viruses) that vaccines prevent can be dangerous, or even deadly. While the chances of getting certain illnesses may not be significantly high, you don’t want to be lacking the protection the vaccines provide if it is needed.

• How vaccines work. Vaccines use very small amounts of antigens to help the immune system recognize and learn to fight the disease or virus. Antigens are parts of germs that cause the body’s immune system to go to work.

• Vaccine safety. Before a vaccine can be given to people, FDA oversees extensive lab testing to ensure it is safe and effective; next clinical studies begin testing in people; once complete and proven safe and effective, the vaccine is licensed. But even after a vaccine is licensed, FDA, CDC, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other federal agencies routinely monitor its use and investigate any potential safety concerns.

• The seasonal flu vaccine. Seasonal influenza shots protect against the three or four influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the season. While influenza vaccines can vary in efficacy season to season, each prevents millions of influenza illnesses, tens of thousands of hospitalizations, and thousands of deaths.

• Some people who get the flu vaccine may still get sick. However, influenza vaccination has been shown in some studies to reduce severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.

 

While we continue to await an approved vaccine for COVID-19, TAG recommends that businesses encourage flu and other vaccines that can help workers stay as healthy as possible – for their health as well as that of the business.