Massachusetts Nurses- Flu Mandate

[MHDNURSE]

How is your compliance for the flu vaccine?  Our numbers are pretty abysmal.  We have a significant number of in person students and more coming back in January.  Many parents are claiming religious exemptions, but have yet to return the required paperwork that goes along with that.  It's going to be super fun calling parents and sending home their kids in January when they all try to comeback to school without their vaccine.  I am most annoyed because we had flu clinics at every school and have been telling them about this since Gov. Baker mandated it.

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

15 minutes ago, k1p1ssk said:

Just got the email from DPH... Flu Vaccine Mandate has been "cancelled".......

"The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is removing the requirement for flu vaccination for attendance in childcare/preschool, primary, secondary and postsecondary education.  Preliminary data show that this has been a mild flu season to date, presumably as people have received their seasonal flu vaccine and have been adhering to mask-wearing and social distancing due to COVID-19.   Given the intensive Commonwealth-wide efforts regarding COVID-19 vaccination, DPH wants to alleviate the burden to obtain flu vaccination and focus on continuing our COVID -19 vaccination efforts.  

DPH continues to strongly recommend that everyone age six months and older receive their seasonal flu vaccine each year.  

Jana Ferguson

Assistant Commissioner 

MA Department of Public Health"

Yep. Part of me is relieved. Part of me in mad because I had invested so. much. time in this. I had the LPN working with me call families, answered emails. Listened a few families let off some steam. 

But they are turning a lot of flu vaccines into COVID vaccine clinics as part of the mass vaccination site plan. 

[scuba nurse, BSN, MSN, RN]

So, just wondering, how many of your students got the actual flu shot? Out of 402, I had 186.

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

On 1/30/2021 at 5:43 PM, scuba nurse said:

So, just wondering, how many of your students got the actual flu shot? Out of 402, I had 186.

I'm still going to do the state survey, and will be pulling my numbers later this week. But we actually had pretty decent compliance during the process.

[k1p1ssk, BSN, RN]

I was at about 24% compliance, however there were many people who did not know they needed to submit paperwork. I had planned on spending time in MIIS to look each kid up individually, but this usually proves fruitless as many providers in our area aren't linked up with the system yet. Maybe I'll still do it if I find myself with some time..