The Hanover and District Hospital is urging its employees to roll up their sleeve and receive the flu shot.
Currently half of the staff have been offered the flu shot — and only one third has decided against it.
The Hospital expects by the time its immunization program ends — about 60 per cent of staff will have received the flu vaccine.
Vice President of Patient Care Esther Millar notes that is well above the Ontario hospital average of 45 per cent.
But those numbers at the Hanover and District Hospital have dropped significantly over the last decade.
In the late 1990’s — the Hospital boasted staff immunization rates of 85 and 95 per cent.
Millar won’t speculate the reason for the dramatic drop but says it seems to be a general trend in the community.
Miller feels flu shots make good sense for health care workers.
She says it reduces staff sick days and it also prevents employees from passing the virus on to patients.
