Is your Facility 'forcing' you to get the Flu Vaccine?

Nurses COVID

Published

My company have a new policy that if you do not want to receive the flu vaccine this year by end November, then you have to wear a mask within 6 feet of all patients.

So they are not saying you have to have the flu vaccine but if you don't then you have to wear a mask at all times!

The local hospital was on the news this week saying if staff refuse to get the flu shot then their contract will be terminated. As we work in an at will state then this apparently is legal.

I chose to take the flu shot, but the rest of the staff feel they are being bullied into doing it. For me it is just not possible to wear a mask 24/7 when with the patients.

Brightfuture4us, you are absolutely right in saying we cannot always trust medicine. An excellent example of this is the contamination of those steroid injections with meningitis!

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Bortaz, RN - Yes, I know, and I agree. However, people (I personally know) may experience side effects and/or pick up a strain of the virus that was not included in the vaccine (which CDC - Seasonal Influenza (Flu) - Q & A: Seasonal Flu Shot further explains).

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Sadly...in our society sometimes MONEY trumps actual NEED or SAFETY. You are SO right when you bring up this outbreak! I was actually thinking of it as well. My other question is if the patients are at such high risk for dying from the flu...why were they not vaccinated against it? Are family members and friends who come to visit patients being required to show proof of vaccination or even asked to wash their hands upon entering and leaving the facility? Sometimes we have to trust our gut in spite of a belief that something is harmless. Asbestos, lead, mercury, agent orange...all examples of things once thought to be safe. Pharmaceuticals are big big business. Scare tactics drive their profits up. I was listening to a homeopath who lectured about vaccines. She explained that there was a lot of H1N1 left that they then used as a base for the next years flu shot. I wish I could remember her name she offered an interesting insight on this topic. I realize that my school of thought differs from mainstream...but that is ok.

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Get the flu shot! There are bigger battles we need to fight.

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You are incorrect...there IS research showing negative effects including those I have mentioned. Your statement of "stop whining and get the shot" is in my opinion offensive. Whining and believing that no one has a right to tell you what to do with your body are NOT the same. As far as evidence based medicine...seriously? You cannot always TRUST medicine. Look how many meds get recalled or pulled off the market. Some of us sit on the holistic side of care and there is nothing wrong with that. It is just different from what you believe.
I apoligize for offending, but the flu shot has been around since the 1940s, and it is still believed by experts that the benefits outweigh the risks. How many of the meds that get pulled each year have been around for 70 years? Each year thousands of people die from the flu and flu related illness. If you don't want the flu vaccine that is your right, but it is not your right to potentially spread a potentially deadly illness to vulnerable populations.
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EmmaZ...we just have to agree to disagree on this one. I respect your opinion even though I do not agree with it. The mercury is the concern. Why can't they remove it from vaccines? There are experts on both side of this fence. Respected knowlegeable people who disagree. The benefits outweigh the risks only until you are the one who is affected. Then the risk doesn't seem so beneficial. As far as the length of time a med was around before being pulled...my question strays from the OP topic. How on earth do these meds make it into the market to begin with? Also as I said in my later post...why are visitors not required to use hand washing practices etc when coming into a facility. Why are the people who are so at risk not vaccinated? At any rate...I appreciate the discussion and wish you and your patients the best this flu season!

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Flu Shots & Alzheimer's Disease | eHow.com

http://ezinearticles.com/?Flu-Shots---The-Alzheimers-Flu-Shot-Connection&id=811244

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/headline_health/flu_shot_Alzheimers/2011/12/18/423456.html

Just a few articles on this topic. In the third article he explains why some people get the flu after getting the vaccine for those of you who get sick after having the flu shot.

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Specializes in Psych.

My agency does not require it nor make you sign a waiver/mask, but I work in community mental health and our agency does offer it. I opted to get mine this year, but from my own doctor as I was out of town when they were administered and my doctor offers flu clinics on weekends. Since I manage to end up feeling like hell warmed over with a low grade temp and general malaise every year about for about 48 ish hours after my vax its nice to just get it on the weekend. For me I feel the benefit outweighs the risk. A bigger worry among our patient population is passing around tb though, since we work with indigent populations.

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
What I do not support is my employer being allowed to mandate what I put into my body. I'm happy to get the flu vaccine if, after being educated about it, I decide it's right for me. But once you tell me I have no choice, that's where I draw the line..

Then go find a different job. It is in your employer's interest to reduce flu transmission and vaccines are a proven way to do that. If you don't like it, hit the road.

What if you decide you don't want to use Standard Precautions as mandated by your employer? Aren't they deciding what you put on your body?

What if you found some bunk websites or quoted cdc sites out of context that "showed"you really don't have to use Standard Precautions as mandated by your employer?

Then you should quit.

There is no debate about vaccine efficacy. Not this year, not a few years ago, not next year.

It's over. The deniers lost.

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Despite the protestations, employer-mandated vaccinations are NOT a civil rights issue. Your freedom to choose is not being impinged. You are free to quite your job if you don't like your employer's requirements. This is not just true for nursing, it is true for any job.

No one is forcing you to get a vaccination, so there is no "invasion" in your body by your employer or the government. In contrast, there seems to be a lack of concern about real civil rights issues regarding invasion of body, such as women not being able to freely control the destiny of their own womb.

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Specializes in ICU, Postpartum, Onc, PACU.

We're supposed to get it every year and last year they said if we didn't we'd have to wear masks in all pt care areas....not sure of the consequences though.I've never gotten a flu shot in my life and don't plan on it. I can't even remember the last time I got the flu, plus all it is is LAST years' bugs (which are either old news or changed/mutated into a new strain). It's dumb. Besides, if pts can refuse it and not have to wear masks then we shouldn't have to (unless we have pts in isolation, etc of course).

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Then go find a different job. It is in your employer's interest to reduce flu transmission and vaccines are a proven way to do that. If you don't like it, hit the road.

No thanks. I like my job. I'm staying put.

What if you decide you don't want to use Standard Precautions as mandated by your employer? Aren't they deciding what you put on your body?

Apples and oranges.

What if you found some bunk websites or quoted cdc sites out of context that "showed"you really don't have to use Standard Precautions as mandated by your employer?

Then you should quit.

Huh?

There is no debate about vaccine efficacy. Not this year, not a few years ago, not next year.

It's over. The deniers lost.

Actually, there is. Even the CDC admits that the flu vaccine is not 100% effective. But that's not even the basis of my argument. I think vaccines should be available to anyone that wants them. Anyone who doesn't want them is knowingly taking their own risk.

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