SIPTU has been contacted by Mr David Walsh, the HSE’s Director of Access and Integration, to advise of a growing concern about the rate of uptake among health care workers taking up vaccines for influenza and Covid-19 this winter.
A letter from Mr Walsh and Dr Colm Henry, the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer, to each Regional Executive Officer and Clinical Director, highlights that health and care workers have an elevated risk of exposure to influenza and COVID-19; and unvaccinated health and care workers have a higher risk of becoming unwell themselves. The letter also highlights that health and care workers can also spread infection to vulnerable patients who may be at risk of severe illness.
You can read the letter from Dr Colm Henry and Mr Walsh here