Objective:
The aim of the study was to characterize health-care workers’ (HCWs) compliance with recommendations of the WHO regarding the seasonal influenza vaccination.

Material and methods:
An anonymous questionnaire was used among 121 HCWs in hospitals in Wrocław, south-west Poland. The study was approved by the Bioethics Committee at Wroclaw Medical University.

Results:
The rate of influenza vaccination in the research group during the season 2015–2016 was 9.9%, and during the season 2016–2017–13.9%. HCWs who had been vaccinated at least once were asked about the reasons for their decision to be vaccinated. The most frequently chosen answers were contact with patients and to avoid flu-related complications (respectively, 23% and 21% of answers). Both concern for one’s health and chronic diseases, as well as subjective assessment of low immunity, were indicated in 25% of respondents as reasons for influenza vaccination. The main reasons for non-vaccination were lack of time (41%), costs (21%) and the subjective assessment that flu immunization is either unnecessary or ineffective (22%). Regarding knowledge about vaccination, 91% of HCWs recommended having a flu vaccination each season annually. About 18% of HCWs admitted that they did not know the recommendations. The main sources of knowledge about influenza and vaccination against seasonal influenza were classes during the course of studies (26%), the Internet (23%), and information from doctors (14%). About 53% of HCWs admitted that they had an influenza-like infection in the previous year, and 53% of them had contact with patients while having influenza-like symptoms.

Conclusions:
Despite rather good knowledge about recommendations, HCWs did not have the vaccinations. Attention should be paid to the role of vaccination in the prevention of the spread of the disease and its complications.