Plans to address flu vaccine uptake among health staff

The HSE plans to expand influenza vaccination accessibility and engage with postgraduate training bodies in a bid to improve uptake by healthcare workers (HCWs), the Medical Independent (MI) has been told.

Concerns over the “low uptake” of the influenza vaccine by HCWs were raised during an internal HSE meeting at the end of last year.

At the December meeting of the HSE performance committee, members discussed the need for management to consider “alternative actions” to improve future uptake.

It was agreed that the Executive would write to the postgraduate medical training bodies to encourage future uptake of the vaccine.

A spokesperson for the HSE told MI it recognises there is a “need to improve” uptake among staff working in healthcare settings.

Some 34.6 per cent of HCWs were recorded as receiving the influenza vaccine during the 2025-26 influenza season, according to figures from the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

While this represented an increase of 2.6 per cent compared to the previous winter, it remains well below the minimum target of 75 per cent.

In terms of staff categories, the uptake among ‘medical and dental’ staff (including doctors) was 47.5 per cent. The figure for nursing and midwifery was 35 per cent, and 42.7 per cent for health and social care professionals.

Asked what “alternative actions” the HSE would take to improve uptake among HCWs, its spokesperson said it has plans in place.

For the 2026–27 winter season, the HSE intends to “expand convenient, flexible, and diverse access routes to vaccination” for HCWs.

The spokesperson said the HSE will also scale best practice by adopting approaches used in services that achieved higher vaccination rates during the 2025–26 influenza season, while embedding supportive leadership across hospitals, residential care facilities, and community settings.

The HSE also plans to strengthen early, targeted, and data-driven communications to promote vaccination among HCWs.

This will include addressing misinformation and disinformation through evidence-based information, education, and training.

During the next influenza season, the HSE will also “engage with professional regulators and postgraduate training bodies” on the issue of vaccination.

The national immunisation advisory committee recommends annual influenza vaccines for HCWs, including those who are pregnant.

“This is because healthcare workers are approximately 10 times more likely to contract the flu compared to the general public,” the spokesperson said.

The HSE pointed out that influenza vaccine uptake in the general population was higher than in many European Union/European Economic Area countries.

Vaccine effectiveness wanes over time, the spokesperson said, while circulating flu strains also evolve, as seen during the 2025–26 flu season, making annual vaccination necessary.

“Higher coverage of [the] flu vaccine amongst all those who are eligible, including healthcare workers, helps reduce the virus load in circulation, and this reduces pressures in health and care sectors,” the spokesperson stated.

“We remain focused on supporting HCWs to make an informed choice, highlighting the protection vaccination provides both for themselves, and for those they care for.”