NAHN to discuss getting flu vaccinations
Members of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses are working to educate Brownsville residents on the importance of flu vaccinations - an initiative sparked by a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.
The study found that only 41.8 percent of all health care workers were vaccinated against the flu during the 2005-2006 influenza season.
"It impacts an already-severe nursing shortage," said Eloisa Tamez, a nursing professor at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. "If nurses get ill, it depletes the workforce even more."
On Sunday, Tamez will address the congregation of San Felipe de Jesus Church, explaining the facts and fictions surrounding vaccinations. Though her comments have relevance to the entire audience, she said, she will target the community's health care workers.
In the coming weeks, with the help of Cameron Park's Proyecto Juan Diego, flu shots will be offered to residents free of charge. The program's dates will be announced soon. Tamez and her colleagues plan to offer information sessions in other communities in early 2009.
Tamez will address San Felipe parishioners at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon.
