Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Clear Your Browser Cache

This website has recently undergone changes. Users finding unexpected concerns may care to clear their browser's cache to ensure a seamless experience.

Surveillance Snapshot: Influenza Immunization Among U.S. Armed Forces Health Care Workers, August 2016–April 2021

Image of 4_Snapshot_influenza immunization health care workers. Staff Sgt. James H. Wagner, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, vaccinates Maj. Gen. M. Ted Wong, commanding general, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, with the seasonal flu vaccines. All WBAMC beneficiaries are encouraged to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu vaccine and the novel flu virus. Look for flu updates on the WBAMC Facebook page, the All Bliss and the Fort Bliss Monitor. (Photo by SGT Valerie Lopez)

The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that all health care personnel be vaccinated against influenza to protect themselves and their patients.1 The Joint Commission's standard on infection control emphasizes that individuals who are infected with influenza virus are contagious to others before any signs or symptoms appear. The Joint Commission requires that health care organizations have influenza vaccination programs for practitioners and staff and that they work toward the goal of 90% receipt of influenza vaccine. Within the Department of Defense, seasonal influenza immunization is mandatory for all uniformed personnel and for health care personnel who provide direct patient care and is recommended for all others (excluding those who are medically exempt).2–5

This snapshot covers a 5-year surveillance period (August 2016–April 2021) and presents the documented percentage compliance with the influenza immunization requirement among active component health care personnel of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. In the 2020–2021 influenza season, the compliance rates for the Navy and Air Force were 95.9% and 95.8%, respectively. Data issues impeded the calculation of compliance rates for the Army during the 2020–2021 season, but the overall influenza compliance rate for all active component soldiers for this period was 94.4%.

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Immunization of health-care personnel: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Recomm Rep. 2011;60(RR-7):1–45.
  2. Headquarters, Departments of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard. Army Regulation 40-562, BUMEDINST 6230.15B, AFI 48-110_IP, CG COMDTINST M6230.4G. Medical Services: Immunizations and Chemoprophylaxis for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases. 7 Oct. 2013.
  3. Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). Policy for Mandatory Seasonal Influenza Immunization for Civilian Health Care Personnel Who Provide Direct Patient Care in Department of Defense Military Treatment Facilities. Health Affairs Policy 08-005. 4 April 2008. 
  4. Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). Addition of Pandemic Influenza Vaccine or Novel Influenza Vaccine to the Policy for Mandatory Seasonal Influenza Immunization for Civilian Health Care Personnel Who Provide Direct Patient Care in Department of Defense Military Treatment Facilities. Health Affairs Policy 11-010. 28 July 2011.
  5. Defense Health Agency. Procedural Instruction 6025.34. Guidance for the DOD Influenza Vaccination Program (IVP). 21 Aug. 2020.

FIGURE. Percentage of health care specialists and officers with records of influenza vaccination, by influenza year (1 Aug. through 30 April) and service, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, Aug. 2016–April 2021

You also may be interested in...

Article
Sep 1, 2023

Update: Routine Screening for Antibodies to Human Immunodeficiency Virus, U.S. Armed Forces, Active and Reserve Components, January 2018–June 2023

This report provides an update through June 2023 of routine screening results for antibodies to HIV among members of the U.S. military. From January 2018 through June 2023, approximately 7 million U.S. military service members (active component, reserve component, and national guard) were tested for HIV antibodies; 1,502 were identified as HIV ...

Article
Aug 1, 2023

Active Surveillance for Acute Respiratory Disease Detected No Outbreaks at Four U.S. Army Basic Training Installations in 2022

This article presents the 2022 results of the active surveillance program for acute respiratory disease and Group A Beta-Hemolytic Streptococcus conducted by the Defense Centers for Public Health-Aberdeen at the four Army installations responsible for basic combat training or one-station unit training. This ARD surveillance program rapidly monitors, ...

Article
Aug 1, 2023

Case Report: Complicated Urinary Tract Infection Due to an Extensively Resistant Escherichia coli in a Returning Traveler

This article presents the medical case report of a 76-year-old man who returned to the U.S. following overseas travel and was admitted at Hawai'i's Tri­pler Army Medical Center with a complicated urinary tract infection due to an extensively resistant strain of E. coli.

Article
Jul 1, 2023

Absolute and Relative Morbidity Burdens Attributable to Various Illnesses and Injuries Among Non-Service Member Beneficiaries of the Military Health System, 2022

This report represents an updated summary of care provided to non-service members in the MHS during calendar year 2022. MHS beneficiaries are diverse and heterogeneous, including active component service members, activated National Guard and Reserve service members, active component immediate family, retirees, and their family members, with differing ...

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search
Last Updated: October 17, 2022
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery