Respiratory virus season is upon us: Dentists can offer flu, COVID vaccinations in California
Summary: The CDC recommends that most individuals in the United States get the flu vaccine in September or October. Some cities and counties in California require health care workers to receive the flu vaccine. CDA resources summarize these local health department orders. Additionally, dentists who complete certain training can administer flu and COVID-19 vaccines in-office to individuals age 3 and older. CE-eligible courses conducted by CDA in partnership with Pacific Dugoni School of Dentistry provide the necessary training.
The respiratory virus season in the United States typically begins in September and can spike as late as February and as early as November. Consistent with advice ahead of most annual influenza seasons, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that individuals 6 months of age or older receive the updated 2024-25 influenza vaccine in September or October and that health care providers begin flu vaccinations now.
Several cities and counties in California have mandated influenza vaccinations for certain health care workers. As of September 24, here are the local public health department orders requiring influenza vaccinations and covering dental practices:
Alameda County Berkeley City Madera County San Joaquin County San Luis Obispo County
Dentists in these cities and counties can access details about their respective flu vaccination mandates in CDA resources, which CDA compliance experts regularly review and keep up to date. However, cities and counties periodically revise their orders, including in response to community spread, so dental employers should familiarize themselves with local ordinances that apply to them.
Additionally, although California ended its statewide COVID-19 vaccination mandate for healthcare workers in September 2022, cities and counties must still implement local COVID vaccination mandates. These are also listed in CDA resources and, as of the publication date of this article, include Los Angeles County and San Francisco, but are subject to change depending on local infection rates.
For city and county employers that do not require vaccination of health care workers, encouraging employees to get vaccinated may be preferable to requiring them, but as a California Court of Appeal recently confirmed, both federal and state law generally allows private employers to require vaccinations as long as they take into account qualified exemptions.
Dentists can educate patients about vaccine safety and effectiveness
Dentists have the opportunity every day to educate their patients about the importance of protecting themselves, their families and their communities from respiratory viruses through vaccination.
In 2021, the CDA Foundation developed vaccine promotion resources for dental teams with a grant it received from the California Department of Public Health. Updated in August 2024, the resources include postable flyers supporting vaccination, talking points to help dental care providers discuss vaccine hesitancy, safety and effectiveness with patients, social media posts, and sample scripts that offices can use to promote vaccinations in their offices.
Patients can also visit the California Department of Public Health’s “My Turn” website to schedule a vaccination appointment or find walk-in clinics for flu, COVID-19 or mpox vaccines.
The CDC explains that most people can get the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time.
Dentists will be allowed to administer flu and COVID vaccines in their offices
Dental offices in California may consider implementing in-office vaccination programs. Due to a CDA-sponsored bill that passed and went into effect in the fall of 2021, licensed dentists in California can now offer influenza and COVID-19 vaccines to individuals age 3 and older, if the vaccine has been approved or cleared by the FDA.
Before dentists can administer the vaccine, they must first complete special training.
CDA’s CE eligible course, “Dental Vaccination Practice Management,” developed in collaboration with the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, provides dentists with the training they need to implement a vaccine administration program in their practice.
Dentists who wish to provide the COVID-19 vaccine must complete additional training by taking a CDC-sponsored training course that consists of three training modules.
California law requires that such training should count toward a dentist’s required CE.
