Leadership Message: Protect Yourself, Protect Others, Get a Flu Shot

Dear Colleagues,

As we rapidly approach the annual cold and flu season, getting your flu vaccine has never been more critical. UC Davis Health leadership strongly encourages you to get your flu shot this season – it’s crucial to help protect yourself, your colleagues, your family, our patients, and our community. You can help ensure health and safety for all by doing your part on flu vaccination.

From Sept. 30 through Oct. 11, the Occupational and Employee Health Clinic (OEHC) sponsored flu vaccination clinic will be held in NAOB, Room 1001 on the Sacramento campus. Free flu vaccines will be provided to all employees to help prevent severe disease and hospitalization among employees, physicians, students, and faculty, but also to help us limit disease spread even more widely through our communities.

Target goal of 85%

Our vaccination rate last year dipped to under 80%, perhaps due to vaccination fatigue. We can do better. Surpassing a rate of 80% overall means a major improvement in keeping our teams and communities healthy. This year, our target is to achieve an 85% vaccination rate. For those who cannot be vaccinated or choose against it, you can submit a declination form and receive approval to wear a medical-grade mask in all settings starting November 1st for the flu season, which typically lasts through April. But we encourage everyone to consider vaccination.

Anyone who receives a vaccine outside of OEHC must upload proof into the OEHC system. The good news is that this will be a much easier process this year. Beginning Oct. 1, team members may upload flu vaccination records from UC Davis Health primary care providers, outside providers, and pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens. Instructions for uploading documentation are located on the Occupational and Employee Health Clinic Flu Information Page.

Overall, some key points include:

• The OEHC on the Sacramento campus will provide free flu vaccines from Sept. 30 through Nov. 1.
• By Nov. 1, all UC Davis Health staff and faculty must receive their flu vaccination, have submitted a declination form, or have submitted evidence of vaccination outside of our system.
• OEHC-sponsored Flu vaccination clinics will be held in NAOB, Room 1001, the OEHC Clinic, and in the HAS Building in Rancho Cordova. Schedules are on the OEHC vaccination page. 
• Some departments/units will also provide flu vaccinations in the self-administration program.
• If you get vaccinated outside of OEHC, please submit your proof to OEHC (the process will be easier, as noted above).
• Those who request and are approved to decline vaccination must wear a medical-grade mask in all settings throughout the entire flu season.
• Managers need to make sure their list of team members who should be vaccinated does not include 100% “no physical access” employees. (These should be removed from the list rather than just ‘passed over’ or ‘exempted.’)

Safe, effective

The flu vaccine is safe, effective, and can be taken in tandem with the COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), major benefits exist with flu vaccinations, including:

• Helping to prevent the spread of the flu in the workplace, at home, and in communities.
• Improving workforce morale and health.
• Helping employees avoid flu complications and potential medical costs.
• Decreasing employees’ sick leave and improving attendance.

While the effects of the flu vary, it places a substantial burden on the health of people in the United States each year. The CDC estimates that flu has resulted in up to 41 million illnesses, 710,000 hospitalizations and 51,000 deaths annually between 2010 and 2023.

Flu vaccines are a vital part of our safety and quality efforts at UC Davis Health. They help us serve our patients more safely and lower the risk of serious flu complications, especially among older adults or those with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, and heart disease. We want to make sure everyone at UC Davis Health is protected. So, please don’t wait, vaccinate!

Yours in health,

Bruce Hall, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.S.
Chief Clinical Officer for UC Davis Health