Experts say gloves are unnecessary for flu shots, urging a shift to reduce waste

Cassandra Thiel, an assistant professor of population health, and Preeti Jaggi, a pediatrics professor, note that they regularly see vaccination technicians sanitize their hands, put on nitrile gloves, give a flu shot and discard the gloves immediately.

They argue that this routine creates large amounts of waste and adds to the health-care sector’s sizable contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution.

The authors suggest that in most routine flu vaccinations gloves are not required for safety, and eliminating them could cut costs and environmental impact while still protecting patients.