Immunization of healthcare personnel can increase safety and decrease costs.

1 Immunization of healthcare personnel can increase safety and decrease costs Personnel who contract vaccine-preventable illnesses not only expose vulnerable patients to diseases but also may miss work to care for themselves or sick relatives. Controlling outbreaks costs money and can drain hospitals of important resources. In 1993, two pertussis outbreaks at Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Cincinnati, Ohio) cost $85,400 to control, and about half of that amount was used to fund a paid 5-day leave for the 79 employees with suspected pertussis. Other incurred costs included security staff to monitor the elevator to ensure compliance with the visitor restriction policy and temporary child care services for siblings of inpatients, who were among those restricted from visiting patients (Walker et al.; Christie et al.). Vaccines have helped to eliminate or limit some very serious diseases in the United States and throughout the world. Various federal agencies and groups have recommended that healthcare personnel be immunized against specific illnesses because of the inherent risks for staff and patients.