Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Clear Your Cache

Health.mil has undergone a recent update. For the best user experience we recommend clearing your browser cache.

Surveillance Snapshot: Influenza Immunization Among U.S. Armed Forces Health Care Workers, August 2018–April 2023

Image of 3Snapshot. Influenza Immunization Among U.S. Armed Forces Health Care Workers, August 2018-April 2023.

The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends vaccination for all health care personnel against influenza to protect both themselves and their patients.1 The Joint Commission’s standard for infection control emphasizes that individuals infected with influenza virus are contagious to others before any signs or symptoms appear. The Joint Commission mandates 90% influenza vaccination for health care personnel, and health care organizations provide influenza vaccination programs for their practitioners and staff. Within the Department of Defense, seasonal influenza immunization is mandatory for all uniformed and health care personnel who provide direct patient care, and is recommended for all others (excluding those medically exempt).2-5

This graph comprises three lines oriented on the horizontal, or x-, axis, each connecting five discrete data points oriented along the vertical, or y-, axis. These three lines represent the health care worker populations within the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force active components. The y axis of the graph charts the annual percent of those Armed Forces health care workers who received an influenza vaccination. The horizontal, or x-, axis demarcates the preceding five influenza seasons, which begin in August and conclude in April, from August 2018 through April 2023. Influenza vaccination rates among health care workers have remained above 91.0%, but declined steadily over the five years among Air Force personnel, from 97.0% to 93.7%; dropped within the last year from 95.5% to 92.8% among Navy personnel; Army rates were fairly consistent, and lower, than the other two services until declining to the absolute lowest rate, 92.0%, in 2021-2022 but the Army rebounded to its normal range of 93.8% in the 2022-2023 season.

This Surveillance Snapshot covers a 5-year surveillance period (August 2018–April 2023) and presents the documented percentage of compliance for the influenza immunization requirement among active component health care personnel of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. In general, these health care personnel include health care specialists (DOD occupation code=13) and health care officers (DOD ocupation code=26), but exclude veterinary medicine, environmental health, biomedical equipment maintenance and repair, and health services administration and logistics personnel. In the 2022-2023 influenza season, compliance rates ranged from 92.8% among Navy health care personnel to 93.8% among Army health care personnel (Figure).

References

  1. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Immunization of health-care personnel: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2011;60(RR-7):1-45.
  2. Headquarters, Departments of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Army Regulation 40-562, BUMEDINST 6230.15B, AFI 48-110_IP, CG COMD-TINST M6230.4G. Medical Services: Immunizations and Chemoprophylaxis for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases. Oct. 7, 2013.
  3. Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). Policy for Mandatory Seasonal Influenza Immunization for Civilian Health Care Personnel Who Provide Direct Patient Care in Department of Defense Military Treatment Facilities. Health Affairs Policy 08-005. Apr. 4, 2008.
  4. Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). Addition of Pandemic Influenza Vaccine or Novel Influenza Vaccine to the Policy for Mandatory Seasonal Influenza Immunization for Civilian Health Care Personnel Who Provide Direct Patient Care in Department of Defense Military Treatment Facilities. Health Affairs Policy 11-010. Jul. 28, 2011.
  5. Defense Health Agency. Procedural Instruction 6025.34. Guidance for the DOD Influenza Vaccination Program. Aug. 21, 2020.

You also may be interested in...

Article
Dec 1, 2024

Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 and Kidney Events in U.S. Active Component Service Members, March 1, 2020–September 30, 2022

This study assessed the incidence and incidence rate ratio of selected kidney events among U.S. active component service members that occurred from 31 days to six months after a COVID-19 test. Early evidence suggests that COVID-19 is linked to kidney-related events in older and hospitalized patients but has not been examined among a younger, healthy ...

Article
Dec 1, 2024

Syphilis Cases Among Pregnant Women and Newborns in the Military Health System, 2012–2022

This report presents the rates of maternal syphilis among pregnant women and congenital syphilis among newborns in the Military Health System beneficiary population from 2012 to 2022. Between 2012 and 2021, cases of congenial syphilis in the U.S. increased by 755%, and rates of maternal and congenital syphilis within the Military Health System ...

Topic
Nov 27, 2024

Medical Surveillance Monthly Report

The Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, a peer-reviewed journal launched in 1995, is the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division's flagship publication. The MSMR provides monthly evidence-based estimates of the incidence, distribution, impact, and trends of health-related conditions among service members.

Article
Nov 1, 2024

Trends of Ischemic Heart Disease and Cerebrovascular Disease in Active Component Female Service Members, 2014–2023

Female-specific risk factors, including mental health, for ischemic heart and cerebrovascular diseases have only recently been recognized. This study summarizes trends from 2014 through 2023 in the incidence of ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular heart disease among U.S. active component female service members and identifies potential military ...

Article
Nov 1, 2024

Cold Weather Injuries Among the Active and Reserve Components of the U.S. Armed Forces, July 2019–June 2024

Since 2004, MSMR has published annual updates on the incidence of cold weather injuries affecting U.S. Armed Force members for the five most recent cold seasons. Cold weather injuries are of significant military concern due to potential effects on service members (e.g., morbidity and potential disability) and the total force (e.g., adverse impacts on ...

Article
Oct 1, 2024

Update: Routine Screening for Antibodies to Human Immunodeficiency Virus in the U.S. Armed Forces, Active and Reserve Components, January 2019–June 2024

This annual report summarizes numbers and trends of newly identified HIV-antibody seropositivity, from January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2024, among military members of five services under the active and reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to the Army and Air Force National Guard.

Article
Oct 1, 2024

Guest Editorial: Health Policy Analysis: Improving HIV PrEP Implementation to Help End the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. Military

This guest editorial presents a policy analysis that suggests HIV PrEP coverage in the Military Health System remains suboptimal, and evaluates several available interventions could result in substantial increases in PrEP coverage that could further reduce new service member HIV infections and increase medical readiness.

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search
Last Updated: December 01, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery