TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Jim Whelan that would require health care facilities to offer flu shots to their employees passed the Senate today and now heads to the Governor’s desk.
“During the flu season, both health care professionals and patients are at risk of spreading influenza throughout hospitals, nursing homes and health care facilities. An outbreak of the flu in one of these health care facilities could have severe consequences on the operations of the facility as well as the health of patients and staff,” said Senator Vitale (D-Middlesex). “By simply making flu shots available to health care workers, we can prevent catastrophic flu outbreaks in these facilities and can significantly decrease the spread of this illness to patients who already have compromised immune systems. It is the responsibility of the health care facility to take every reasonable step possible to protect their employees and patients from the spread of this common disease, particularly when this step is as simple as making influenza vaccines accessible and available.”