HSE Mid West Community Healthcare, UL Hospitals Group, Public Health Mid-West Launch Staff Flu Vaccination Campaign for Winter 2022/23
FIGHTING FLU STARTS WITH YOU!
HSE Mid West Community Healthcare, UL Hospitals Group and Public Health Mid-West are encouraging all healthcare staff in the Mid West Region to avail of the flu vaccine this winter.
The first of a series of Flu Vaccine clinics have been held today (Monday, October 3rd) with more to be held throughout Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary over the coming weeks.
As we face into a very challenging season from a Flu and COVID perspective, vaccination against flu remains of the utmost importance for all of us as healthcare workers.
Flu is a very serious illness. Up to 500 people die from the virus in Ireland every year. Healthcare workers are 10 times more likely to get the flu.
In HSE Mid West Community Healthcare, healthcare workers can avail of flu vaccine for free from Organised clinics across the region. Dates and times of these clinics will be distributed regularly via email and the staff app, with details of the first clinics below.
The vaccine is also available via:
- COVID Vaccination Centre in Scoil Carmel, O’Connell Avenue will offer the Flu vaccine to staff every Thursday which will be bookable through SwiftQueue.
- Your local GP / Pharmacy. When you are getting your vaccine, be sure to inform your vaccinator that you are a Healthcare worker. This will guarantee that you are entered into a monthly prize draw for healthcare workers to thank you for playing your role in reducing the harmful effects of flu.
Find more information about getting your COVID-19 booster at https://healthservice.hse.ie/staff/covid-19-staff-support/getting-your-vaccine/
Staff Competition
Please inform your vaccinator that you are a Healthcare worker, what you work as i.e. nurse/ admin and your location of work. This will ensure that you are entered into a monthly draw for healthcare workers to acknowledge your contribution in reducing incidents of Flu and its harmful effects.
Partnership With UNICEF
We are delighted to announce that as part of this year’s Staff Flu Vaccination campaign, we have again partnered with UNICEF to promote their ‘Get a vaccine, give a vaccine’ campaign. We are encouraging you to all to “Get a vaccine, give a vaccine”. Not only will you be playing a leading role in ensuring that yourself, our patients, our families and our communities are protected from influenza, you will also be contributing to the eradication of Polio in the developing world.
Maria Bridgeman, Chief Officer, HSE Mid West Community Healthcare said: “The importance of vaccinations has been all too apparent over the past two years. However, for many years now the flu vaccine has played a valuable role in protecting people from this serious illness. Getting the flu vaccine offers the best possible protection to you, your family and the service users you care for. Our continued partnership with UNICEF means that you’ll also help protect many children in disadvantaged areas of the world. This vaccine is free of charge to all healthcare staff, but the protection it offers is priceless, and I encourage all staff to avail of this vaccine.”
Suzanne Dunne, Head of Strategy and Executive Lead for Health and Wellbeing, UL Hospitals Group, said that widespread engagement with the 2022-23 Staff Flu Vaccination campaign was more important now than ever before, particularly with the impending winter's twin-threat of COVID-19 and influenza. “Our staff must be congratulated for engaging with the COVID-19 vaccination programme so wholeheartedly, as this ensured that we could keep hospital services running safely throughout the pandemic. However, we must not forget about the importance of building a robust immune defence against flu as well. I urge all staff to register up for the Flu Vaccination, in order to keep themselves, their patients, families and our communities safe. As ever, there is a great humanitarian incentive with the ‘Get a Vaccine to Give a Vaccine’ campaign that will help UNICEF to fully immunise tens of thousands of children in the developing world against polio. So getting vaccinated against flu helps keep all of us safe from illness this Winter, while also making a huge positive impact on the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children."
Dr Mai Mannix, Area Director of Public Health Mid-West, said: “We are urging eligible people to avail of their COVID-19 and flu vaccines ahead of this winter. This is an annual area of concern for Public Health, and this year we can expect a ‘twindemic’ effect of a high incidence of influenza and COVID-19 in the Mid-West region. Our best protection against these two different diseases is vaccination. In particular, we want vulnerable people, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems to avail of the flu and COVID-19 vaccines, as they are most at risk of serious illness and death. I also recommend healthcare workers who work closely with vulnerable people and patients to get vaccinated. COVID-19 and the flu are two different respiratory diseases that can cause disruption and harm at home, at work, and in healthcare settings with vulnerable people.”
