Influenza vaccination among Health Care Workers at a Regional University Adult Acute-Care Hospital in Genoa, Liguria, Italy: results from a project promoting awareness and active offer during the period 2005-2011

Seasonal influenza is a major public health problem causing, each year, an increase in hospitalizations due to complications and, consequently, a not negligible number of deaths [1]. Influenza vaccination is the primary tool for the prevention of the disease and, as stated in the Ministerial Circular “Prevention and control of influenza” [2], health-care personnel is regularly included among the categories for which the vaccination is recommended: this group is exposed to high risk both of individual infection and of nosocomial transmission [3]. The compliance of the health-care personnel to immunization is crucial for achieving high Vaccination Coverage (VC) rates in order to contain the virus circulation and to reduce work absenteeism, particularly during epidemics, the period of greatest demand for assistance by the community.