What You Should Know about McLaren Health Care's Flu Vaccine Program for the 2025/2026 Flu Season
Who:
McLaren is requesting that ALL employees participate in the annual flu campaign, either by receiving the annual flu vaccination or signing an informed declination. This policy applies to all active McLaren Health Care employees and health care professionals (corporate and subsidiary employees), including but not limited to physicians, dentists, podiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants with privileges at any McLaren Health Care site. HCP also includes members of the medical staff at any McLaren site. Also included are contract employees, vendor representatives, students, volunteers, and independent contractors.
What:
Flu Vaccination
When:
October 1 - December 1, 2025
Flu Vaccine Schedules
Where:
Each subsidiary employee health clinic will hold flu vaccination days, have open walk-in hours and make rounds to the hospital clinical areas. Employees in non-clinical areas should watch the Flu Resource Page for flu clinic hours in your area. McLaren employees can receive the vaccine at any McLaren subsidiary.
Before receiving your vaccine, you must sign the flu consent form in Immuware.
If you have signed a declination in the past and want to get the flu vaccine in 2025, please contact your local Employee Health Office in order to sign the flu consent form electronically.
Options:
Individuals wishing to decline vaccination will be required to sign an informed declination form stating their rationale for declining. This can be completed in the McLaren Employee Health System, Immuware.
If you have a signed declination form on file, you do not need to resubmit.
If you received your vaccination outside of McLaren, please log into Immuware and submit your vaccination documentation.
Immuware:
Immuware can be accessed from all desktops (the Immuware icon will be visible on McLaren desktops, laptops, cell phones, and tablets). Employees should use their computer login (single sign-on, SSO) to access Immuware. Non-McLaren employees will need a unique log in created by your local Employee Health office.
Employee Influenza Frequently Asked Questions
What You Should Know about McLaren Health Care’s Flu Vaccine Program for the 2025/2026 Flu Season
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends annual influenza vaccination for everyone 6 months and older. Getting a flu vaccination is one of the most effective ways to help prevent unnecessary deaths and the spread of this preventable disease. At McLaren Health Care, we care about you, your family and our patients’ safety. We want everyone to be protected. Here are some frequently asked questions and the corresponding answers.
People with flu can spread it to others. Influenza viruses are spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are up to about 6 feet away or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5 to 7 days after becoming sick. Children may pass the virus for longer. Symptoms start 1 to 4 days after the virus enters the body. That means that you may be able to pass the flu on to someone else BEFORE you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick. Some can be infected with the flu virus but have no symptoms. During this time, those persons may still spread the virus to others.
Flu vaccines CANNOT cause flu. Flu vaccines are made with either killed or weakened viruses.
Flu vaccines are safe. Serious problems from a flu vaccine are very rare. The most common side effect that a person is likely to experience is soreness where the injection was given. This is generally mild and usually goes away after a day or two.
Visit Influenza Vaccine Safety at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/vaccines/flu.html for more information.
To ensure we are doing all we can to help our patients and employees live well and to protect their health and safety, McLaren requires ALL employees to participate in the annual flu campaign, either by receiving the annual flu vaccination or signing an informed declination. This policy applies to all active McLaren Health Care employees and health care professionals (corporate and subsidiary employees), including but not limited to physicians, dentists, podiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants with privileges at any McLaren Health Care site. HCP also includes members of the medical staff at any McLaren site. Also included are contract employees, vendor representatives, students, volunteers, and independent contractors. Employees who are 100% remote are exempt.
Influenza illness and death are significant safety concerns. Annually, in the United States, influenza affects more than 20 percent of the population with millions of people getting the flu every year, hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized and thousands or tens of thousands of people die from flu-related causes every year. Flu shots in health care workers can prevent transmission of influenza and save lives – resulting in as many as 40 percent fewer deaths.
Annual vaccination is important because influenza is unpredictable, flu viruses are constantly changing and immunity from vaccination declines over time. Since health care workers may care for or live with people at high risk for influenza-related complications, it is especially important for them to get vaccinated annually. CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine as the first and best way to protect against influenza. This recommendation is the same even during years when the vaccine composition (the viruses the vaccine protects against) remains unchanged from the previous season.
If you work for McLaren, even if you do not have direct patient care responsibilities, you do have direct contact with those who care for patients and can easily transmit the flu.
Employees on LOA will have an appropriate period based on their leave period after returning to work to provide proof of vaccination or sign an informed declination.
Leaders should allow time for employees to be vaccinated. If employees are receiving vaccination from an Employee Health Flu clinic, they should attend the clinic on work time. Remote employees are encouraged to receive the flu vaccination from a McLaren flu clinic closest to their home.
All vaccines administered by Employee Health are latex, mercury, and thimerosal (preservative) free. If available, we will be offering egg-free vaccines. Visit https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines/egg-allergies.html for more information. If you have any other allergy or other medical condition preventing you from receiving vaccination, you will be required to sign an informed declination form stating their rationale for declining. This can be completed in the McLaren Employee Health System, Immuware.
You will need to submit a signed declination. The declination form can be completed in the McLaren Employee Health System, Immuware.
Employees who do not receive the vaccination, provide documentation of immunization, or have a declination on file with Employee Health by Dec. 1 will be referred to Human Resources.
If an employee previously has been granted a religious or medical flu and/or COVID exemption, that exemption is valid for the duration of employment with McLaren, no further action is necessary. If an exempt employee chooses to be vaccinated with the flu vaccine, they are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Employee Health will have flu vaccines available to administer late September. Flu campaign kickoff is October 1, and everyone will need to received vaccination or have signed a declination by November 30. Your subsidiary will provide more detailed information on dates/times/locations of vaccine availability.
Direct any questions to your manager or your local Employee Health Department.