Oregon’s health‑care workforce is falling short of flu‑vaccination goals, with just 52% of eligible staff receiving the shot during the 2025‑2026 season, according to the Oregon Health Authority’s latest dashboard. The figure represents a two‑percentage‑point decline from the previous year and a 33‑point drop since the 2019‑2020 season, when 85% of workers were vaccinated.
Facility‑by‑facility snapshot
Among the five reporting facility types, ambulatory surgery centers posted the highest coverage at 62%, followed by hospitals at 57%. Dialysis centers reported 51%, inpatient psychiatric facilities 33%, and nursing facilities the lowest at 25%.
Only three categories – ambulatory surgery centers, dialysis centers and inpatient psychiatric facilities – showed year‑over‑year increases. Dialysis centers have been on an upward trajectory since the 2021‑2022 season, when their rate was 27%.
Reasons behind the decline
Dr. Dat Tran, medical director of the Health‑Associated Infections Program, warned that the drop may reflect “vaccine fatigue,” reduced emphasis on flu shots during the COVID‑19 pandemic, lower perceived risk, and inconsistent workplace vaccination policies. He also noted a rise in workers with unknown vaccination status, which climbed to 29% this season from just 7% in 2019‑2020, making it harder to gauge true coverage.
State response and resources
In response, the Oregon Health Authority has released a toolkit for facilities that includes best‑practice recommendations such as hosting mass vaccination fairs, offering free vaccines to staff, creating incentive programs, and requiring formal declination forms for workers who choose not to be vaccinated. The agency continues to require annual reporting from hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis centers, ambulatory surgery centers and inpatient psychiatric facilities.
Tran emphasized that higher vaccination rates protect both patients and staff by limiting virus transmission, reducing absenteeism, and lowering health‑care costs. “We know all too well from the pandemic how an outbreak of a highly infectious respiratory virus in a health‑care setting can affect staffing levels and patient care,” he said.
What this means for Oregon families
For families who rely on these facilities, the data underscore the importance of encouraging health‑care workers to get vaccinated. A well‑vaccinated workforce helps keep hospitals and nursing homes operating smoothly, ensuring that patients receive timely care during flu season.
State officials hope that the new outreach measures will reverse the downward trend and bring Oregon closer to the former Healthy People 2020 benchmark of 90% coverage.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
