MDS Alert

Question: I just moved to a new state and am working at a new long-term care facility. I have been vaccinated with all of the “regular” immunizations required for healthcare workers in my old state, but I’m being told that I need to get a pneumonia vaccine because I work in a long-term care facility. Is this true?

New York Subscriber

Answer:  In New York, law mandates that facilities request their employees receive the influenza vaccination as well as the pneumococcal vaccination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that New York has a blanket requirement for all workers in long-term care facilities: “New York law requires that ‘[e]very long-term care facility shall . . . request that the employee agree to be immunized against influenza virus and pneumococcal disease.’”

The state is one of five in the nation that makes facility administrations ensure up-to-date vaccination: “Per New York law, ‘every long-term care facility in this state shall require . . . employees to be immunized for influenza virus and pneumococcal disease.’”

Additionally, New York is one of four states that has a pneumococcal vaccination assessment requirement for healthcare workers in long-term care facilities: “Under New York law, a ‘long-term care facility shall require documentation of . . . immunization against pneumococcal disease for each employee.’”

Other states have differing requirements, addressing pneumococcal vaccinations for both healthcare workers and residents who may not fit the “standard” resident description; i.e., is younger than 65. You can find more information from the CDC here: www.cdc.gov/phlp/docs/menu-ltcpneumo.pdf.