Flu vaccination rates among Oregon healthcare workers have declined to just over 52 percent during the 2025-2026 season, according to data released by the Oregon Health Authority, down from 85 percent in 2019-2020.
The declining trend creates risk for vulnerable patients, according to Dat Tran, medical director of the Health Authority's Healthcare-Associated Infections Program. "When flu vaccination rates drop, the risk of influenza transmission to vulnerable patients rises," Tran said. "The people being cared for in health care settings often have health conditions that make them particularly susceptible to severe health outcomes, and even death."
Among facility types, ambulatory surgery centers reported the highest vaccination rate at 62 percent, followed by hospitals at 57 percent, dialysis centers at 51 percent, inpatient psychiatric facilities at 33 percent, and nursing facilities at 25 percent. Nursing facilities experienced the largest decline between the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons, falling from 30 percent to 25 percent. Ambulatory surgery centers, dialysis centers, and inpatient psychiatric facilities were the only types to see increases.
The proportion of healthcare workers who declined vaccination increased slightly from 18 percent to 19 percent between seasons. The percentage of workers with unknown vaccination status rose to 29 percent, the highest in seven flu seasons, according to the health authority. Unknown status increased from 7 percent in 2019-2020 to 29 percent in 2025-2026, suggesting documentation gaps.
To reach the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2020 goal of 90 percent vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel, an additional 55,433 healthcare workers would have needed to be vaccinated during the 2025-2026 season. The state now uses that benchmarks, as Healthy People 2030 does not include a healthcare personnel-specific goal.
The Health Authority has developed a toolkit for healthcare employers and workers recommending mass vaccination fairs, vaccines provided at no cost to employees, incentive programs, and documentation of vaccination status with required declination forms.