Recommendations on strategies to achieve the Healthy People 2020 annual goal of 90% influenza vaccine coverage for health care personnel

This presentation will define the 2011 National Vaccine Advisory Committee's recommendations on strategies to increase influenza vaccine coverage for health care personnel. The National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) advises and makes recommendations to the Director of the National Vaccine Program (NVP), the Assistant Secretary for Health. The NVP is a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NVAC recommends ways to achieve optimal prevention of human infectious diseases through vaccine development, and provides direction to prevent adverse reactions to vaccines. In November of 2010, the Health Care Personnel Influenza Vaccination Subgroup (HCPIVS) of NVAC was formed and charged by the National Vaccine Program to develop recommendations on strategies to achieve the Healthy People 2020 annual goal of 90% influenza vaccine coverage for health care personnel. The HCPIVS members included: NVAC members; National Vaccine Program Office staff; ex-officio members of federal organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Defense; and liaison representatives, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. These representatives reviewed related literature, research, position statements, and technical presentations in developing their recommendations. The presenter(s) will define the recommended strategies along with the pros and cons of each strategy. In addition, potential barriers and elimination of these barriers to vaccination will be discussed with the participants along with implementation issues and how to translate policy to practice in health care institutions and offices.