Employers are already ordering plenty of flu vaccines for their employees: the number of orders is no less than four times higher than in the same period last year. Service group Liantis reported this on Thursday. The pharmacists are concerned.
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It has become a routine annual task: every year employees can get vaccinated against the flu through their employer between October and December. This year it seems that a lot more employers want to protect their employees. The demand for flu vaccines is no less than four times higher than in the same period last year, Liantis reports.
The healthcare sector currently accounts for about half (48 percent) of all orders. “Of course, employees in this sector most often come into contact with vulnerable people, so it makes sense that employees want to protect themselves and their patients or clients in this way,” says Sylvia Vanden Avenne, senior manager of medical supervision at Liantis.
Vanden Avenne is convinced that there will be a second corona wave. “The only question is when and how bad. If there is another flu peak in winter, this will pose a huge challenge for the healthcare sector. So we want to support them as well as possible to vaccinate their employees. ”
The pharmacists are concerned about the great interest from companies. “We fear there will be too few flu vaccines for those who really need them,” said Lieven Zwaenepoel of the General Pharmaceutical Association. “We must give priority to priority groups, in particular care providers, the elderly and the chronically ill. There is now a risk that the flu vaccines have been ordered right away by the occupational health services. That cannot be the intention. “
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