Work

Pneumococcal vaccination for welders: Global deployment within a multi‐national corporation

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Lobar pneumonia is an occupational disease of welders. This is the first report of global deployment of a pneumococcal vaccination program for welders within a multi-national corporation. METHODS: Global webinars were conducted to introduce the program. Communication packages translated into all location languages were deployed. All employee welders who had not previously been vaccinated were offered a free single dose of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) by on-site location medical centers during normal working hours. Numbers of vaccinated welders were reported by each location each month. RESULTS: Twelve months after starting the program, 241 of 767 welders have been vaccinated (31%) across six countries. CONCLUSIONS: Global deployment of pneumococcal vaccination for welders can be successfully undertaken by a multi-national corporation. Adoption of this practice by corporations could reduce the incidence and mortality of pneumonia among welders globally.

Source: American Journal of Industrial Medicine

DOI: 10.1002/ajim.22934

Authors: A. Michael Donoghue, James C. Wesdock

Institutions: Alcoa (Australia), Alcoa (United States)

Language: English

Topic: Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,430