Skip to content
Health
Link copied to clipboard

How many workers in Philadelphia-area hospitals are unvaccinated against COVID-19 or flu? Check your local hospital.

COVID-19 vaccine rates in some hospitals were below 80%, despite mandates. Flu vaccinations rates dropped even lower.

In some Philadelphia-area hospitals, vaccination rates for the flu are at 40%.
In some Philadelphia-area hospitals, vaccination rates for the flu are at 40%.Read moreMark J. Terrill / AP

Three in four workers at Jefferson Health’s Abington Memorial Hospital received their COVID-19 vaccines.

At Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic hospitals in the region — Mercy Fitzgerald, Nazareth, and St. Mary — only 40% of staff got their flu shot.

As the number of people sick with respiratory illnesses increases, and hospitals in the region are again asking all visitors to wear masks, The Inquirer analyzed the latest data on vaccination rates for local hospital workers.

The percent of workers who are vaccinated against COVID-19 is higher than those who are vaccinated against the flu. But both rates vary across hospitals in the region — and even within hospitals.

At Temple University Hospital, 100% of employees were vaccinated against COVID-19 but only 60% were vaccinated against the flu.

That’s according to the latest federal data on hospital workers’ vaccine rates from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. The agency required worker at hospitals that participate in Medicare to be vaccinated against COVID until last summer. CMS still tracks how many medical workers received the first series of COVID shots that rolled out in December 2020, but not later boosters. Hospitals had to report the COVID-19 vaccination status of employees for the period between Oct. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022, and flu for the period between Oct. 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.

Differences reported between hospitals, however, may be due to a wide range of factors.

Other vaccination requirements for workers in health care settings varied among counties, states, and employers during that time period. Philadelphia continues to require COVID-19 vaccination for health-care workers, while other counties do not.

Temple said it is working to increase its flu vaccine rate. Trinity said its low reported flu rates were due to data tracking issues. Jefferson declined to comment without independently evaluating the data.

Here’s a look at the COVID-19 and flu vaccination rate for hospitals in the Philadelphia region: