Supporting Seafarer Health: Planning for Seasonal Vaccinations
- Rachel Smith
- Feb 23
- 4 min read
Seasonal vaccination programs require more than clinical readiness — they depend on timely planning, accurate forecasting, and proactive communication with suppliers. This blog, in our series about Supporting Seafarer Health, we talk about vaccinations onboard, with a focus on annual influenza vaccines; who should have them, and how to get hold of them for your crew.
Planning for when and how to secure flu vaccines for your crew should be starting early, and the decisions you make now can directly impact health outcomes and operational continuity later in the year.
Let's start by taking a look at the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC), which protects the rights of seafarers to have good working and living conditions, fair pay and leave, health and safety protection and accident prevention, and an employment agreement. Article IV of the MLC specifies that ‘Every seafarer has a right to health protection, medical care, welfare measures and other forms of social protection’. Shipowners should establish occupational safety and health policies and programs to ensure seafarers have access to good quality healthcare, with the ability to escalate to shoreside medical support if needed.
Influenza (flu), is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses and it causes around 650,000 deaths each year globally. It typically presents with symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, and fatigue. It’s transmitted via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes which means it could spread through a whole crew, and affect guests, very quickly. While most healthy individuals recover within a week or two, some may experience severe complications, particularly those in high-risk groups.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection and severe illness. Therefore planning to vaccinate is an essential part of the global seasonal flu response.
It’s also worth remembering that in temperate climates, flu outbreaks tend to be seasonal, mostly in the winter months. But in tropical latitudes the risk is all year round.
Smaller crews should be encouraged to arrange for flu vaccines to be administered either while they are on shore leave, or at a port where a doctor, nurse or pharmacist ashore can give the vaccine. On cruise ships, we have the option to administer vaccinations onboard as the medical team will be able to facilitate a vaccination program for the whole crew.
However, this takes planning! New strains appear frequently which means the vaccine normally changes each year as scientists determine how the virus has mutated and spread. This means that a new batch of vaccines will be developed and distributed every year.
The best time of year to vaccinate for flu is normally around September to November, though it can still be beneficial to be vaccinated later than this. The aim is to build up immunity before the peak season in December and January.
Flu vaccines come in pre-filled syringes so there is no mixing, minimal waste and no hassle to store and administer them. They are also shipped in temperature controlled packaging from start to finish to ensure quality is maintained, wherever you are in the world.
Generally, there are enough flu vaccines to go round (the UK uses over 30 million vaccines alone), but manufacturers may stagger the release and demand early in the season, particularly for the most vulnerable, can lead to temporary limitations.
But let’s say your cruise ship is in the Caribbean and heading to Europe for the summer, before returning for the winter season. When can and should you order vaccines for the crew for administering in September to November?
The answer is right now! Ideally you should be calculating numbers and placing your order for flu vaccinations in April of the year you want to use them. If you haven’t ordered them yet, you need to get in touch with your supplier now to chat about quantities and where to deliver them to.
So what happens if ordering vaccines wasn’t on your radar until just now? Depending on your supplier, it may still be possible to place an order in time. Remember that while the ideal time for giving seasonal flu vaccines is September to November, they are still effective after that. So work out how many you need and chat to your supplier sooner rather than later.
While crew can’t be forced to accept a flu vaccination, it’s worth the onboard medical team planning some education around the benefits of vaccination, both individually and for the wider crew.
With regard to next year, we’d recommend putting a date in your diary now for 2027. March is a good time to prepare, and placing an order in April will give you the best chance to receive your flu vaccines in good time, and protect your crew.
If you have any questions about this blog, please contact Red Square Medical direct.
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