Using the following infection control actions together will help protect patients, yourself, and your colleagues from getting sick.
- Regular and correct use of masks and respirators help decrease the spread of respiratory viruses. NIOSH-approved respirators (including N95s) offer the highest level of protection.
- Clean your hands. Hands are main way germs spread in healthcare settings. Cleaning your hands regularly with an alcohol-based hand sanitiser or soap and water is a simple yet effective tool to stop the spread of germs.
- Clean and disinfect. Regular environmental cleaning is a necessity. Lobby areas, cafeterias, and waiting rooms are all high-traffic spaces. It’s also important to disinfect reusable devices and not reuse disposable items.
- Practice physical distancing. To limit the spread of germs, encourage physical distancing – particularly in shared spaces. Also take advantage of telemedicine and use telehealth appointments for patient care, when appropriate. These strategies significantly decrease the risk of spreading illness.
- Get vaccinated. Encourage everyone in your practice to get vaccinated against flu and Covid-19 to reduce spread and absenteeism. Recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of illness between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons.
- Ensure HVAC maintenance is up to date. Consult with facilities management to ensure the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, or HVAC, system is working efficiently for proper ventilation in your facility. Consider using high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filters in small spaces for an added layer of protection.
How effective are flu vaccines?CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well influenza (flu) vaccines protect against flu. While vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to those used to make flu vaccines. In general, current flu vaccines tend to work better against influenza B and influenza A(H1N1) viruses and offer less protection against influenza A(H3N2) viruses.
- Flu vaccine prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor’s visits each year. For example, during 2019-2020, the last flu season prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses, 3.7 million influenza-associated medical visits, 105 000 influenza-associated hospitalisations, and 6 300 influenza-associated deaths.
- During seasons when flu vaccine viruses are similar to circulating flu viruses, flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40% to 60%.
- Flu vaccine prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor’s visits each year. For example, during 2019-2020, the last flu season prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 7.5 million influenza illnesses, 3.7 million influenza-associated medical visits, 105 000 influenza-associated hospitalisations, and 6 300 influenza-associated deaths.
Source: CDC
