Healthentic: Flu vaccination rates among employees exceedingly low

SEATTLE — Healthentic, an analytics company that identifies health savings for employers, found the overall vaccination rate of employees was only 10%. While the CDC reports higher vaccination rates, a majority of Americans don't receive flu vaccinations, the company stated.

 

"October is the start of the active flu season in the U.S. and the CDC says it's the best time to get vaccinated," said Sean Gallivan, Healthentic COO. "It only takes a few minutes and the benefits are tremendous. Employers can reduce healthcare costs and the number of sick days lost to the flu. Employees can protect their health. Get vaccinated."

 

Healthentic's analysis of 27 companies found the average cost for a single flu-related outpatient office visit totaled $122 during the 2012-13 flu season. The average cost for each flu-related emergency room visit totaled $581, and the average cost for a flu-related hospitalization totaled $4,001. In one instance, an employer incurred $28,000 dollars in hospital expenses resulting from a single case of flu. While extreme, this shows taking the time to get a flu shot can have a huge payoff for both employees and employers, Healthentic noted.