Editorial: Did the caregiver get a flu shot? You have to ask
Do you know if the employees caring for your mom or dad or grandparent at a long-term care facility have had flu shots?
You should, given how dangerous flu can be for older, frail people. In this active flu season, 61 percent of the ICU admissions for flu have been among people 65 or older, the Illinois Department of Public Health reports. Flu shots become less effective as we age, immune defenses grow weaker, and other illnesses can increase the chance of complications, potentially placing elderly flu victims on an irreversible downward spiral.
Yet, Illinois does not mandate that anyone get a flu shot.
That's something to know if you have children in day care, where children under age 6 months who aren't yet vaccinated rely on those around them to be protected against the flu. Every year, children die of the flu.
And, of course, it's something to know if you're responsible for someone who lives in a nursing home, assisted living community or similar facility.
Until Illinois addresses that lapse, the only way to find out if caregivers have had flu shots is to ask. We urge you to do so. Though it might make you feel uncomfortable, it's an important way to keep vulnerable people healthy.
Companies that run long-term care facilities don't want flu outbreaks, either. Those we contacted for an article in Tuesday's Daily Herald strongly recommended flu shots for employees and provided them for free, in accordance with a state law that also requires health care facilities to document who gets immunized. But they don't mandate the shots.
In the absence of a state requirement, local hospitals we contacted said they do mandate shots for employees.
"I think that we need to understand certain careers require certain responsibilities," Dr. Jorge Parada, medical director of infection prevention and control at Loyola University Medical Center, told the Daily Herald's Susan Sarkauskas.
Infectious disease outbreaks in long-term care facilities are no fun even for residents who don't get sick. Typically residents are restricted to their rooms, dining rooms are closed, meals are delivered on trays and activities and outings are canceled. A time of life that is difficult for many people becomes even harder.
Should you assume most health care workers get flu shots even without a mandate? Maybe not.
Nationwide, just 68 percent of employees at long-term care facilities are immunized against the flu, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
If you want to know whether the ones you care about are among them, there's only one way to find out.
Just ask.