Hospitals illegally firing nurses for refusing flu vaccines

Kittypower123, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2013

The job of a hospital or other healthcare facility is to provide an environment of healing for the patients. This includes protection against facility acquired illness. Influenze can be particularly harmful to patients in the hospital who already have compromised health. A person infected with influenza will spread it to others before he or she even knows she has it. That is one of the reasons why flu spreads so effectively.

Flu vaccinations reduce the number of nurses who could spread the flu to patients. Requiring vaccination is a policy aimed at protecting patients from acquiring flu while in the hospital. Generally, there are provisions for those who cannot receive the vaccine. Since certain people, for medical reasons, cannot be vaccinated, those people must take other measures to reduce the risk of passing flu on to the patients. Requiring non-vaccinated nurses to wear masks during flu season is not a punitive measure but a preventative one.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jan 23, 2013

I stopped reading once I saw the URL

sharee1027 · Jan 23, 2013

I often wonder how many CDC employees are forced to take these same heavy metal containing shots? How many doctors are actually taking the vaccine? We all know that simple hand washing and covering the mouth can go along way when it comes to prevention. All kinds of people visit the sick in hospitals on a daily basis and its not mandatory for them to have a flu shot. So my point is viruses have so many avenues to enter in hospitals and clinical settings, not just through nurses who didn't recieved a flu shot. I agree with wearing the mask during flu season to protect the patients. Many who got the vaccination still got a ugly case of the flu, so whats the use!

elkpark · Jan 23, 2013

I often wonder how many CDC employees are forced to take these same heavy metal containing shots? How many doctors are actually taking the vaccine? We all know that simple hand washing and covering the mouth can go along way when it comes to prevention. All kinds of people visit the sick in hospitals on a daily basis and its not mandatory for them to have a flu shot. So my point is viruses have so many avenues to enter in hospitals and clinical settings, not just through nurses who didn't recieved a flu shot. I agree with wearing the mask during flu season to protect the patients. Many who got the vaccination still got a ugly case of the flu, so whats the use!

All the physicians on my service take the flu shot every year. Handwashing and covering the mouth are valuable infection control precautions -- so is vaccination. Hospitals have no ability to require that patients and visitors have had a flu shot before entering the hospital, but they can require employees to do so. How many is "many" ("who got the vaccination and still got a(n) ugly case of the flu"), what percentage of the total population who receiving the vaccination?? Yes, there are many, many ways that viruses and "bugs" enter hospitals and clinical settings, and that is exactly why healthcare employers are trying to minimize that in every way that they practically can. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and to make choices about your own healthcare -- and to work for an employer that doesn't require employees to take flu shots. :)

Paul'in'FL · Jan 23, 2013

I'm waiting for the Jenny McCarthy crowd to chime in any second now, since we have already mentioned "heavy metals" and the old stand-by of "I got the flu from my (attenuated) flu vaccine."

kat7464 · Jan 23, 2013

Why can't we put our patient's vulnerability above our rights, in this case over a stupid flu shot?

totallyfakerockgod · Jan 23, 2013

I think this needs to be challenged in a court of law. You MUST take a shot you must be thin, you may not smoke, we don't hire redheads....the list will grow. America is the land of the free and the brave....? IMHO.... It's a slippery slope we've begun to follow.[/quote']
Totally agreeing with this!
It's a vary slipper slope!
I'm a smoker who.works for a non smoking company & what I do on my time is NONE of their bussiness.
I choose not to.smoke at.work & to comply with my jobs rules regarding. But if I choose to.spend my 15 minute lunch walking around Ryde block & have a cigarette that's my choice. I just rince before I return. Simple as that.
I won't get the flu mist or shot either. I keep clean & if I get it it's my.check.that's short not my bosses. It actually makes, me very ill for 6-9 weeks. Hm...chance.a week or 2 off... Or months

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jan 23, 2013

Just an FYI - Tx has already passed legislation that mandates this... with increasing levels of compliance required over the next few years. So - nope, it's not optional for any healthcare facility that must be licensed by our Dept of Health. Seems odd, doesn't it that our state leadership refuses to participate in Federal health initiatives, thereby losing 100's of millions of Fed $'s based on a down & dirty fight against Federal mandates for reproductive rights --- but has no problem mandating flu vaccine?? Yep, got your situational ethics right here. (head shaking)

olddragger · Jan 23, 2013

Many posters have said that as nurses we are bound by professional responsibility to take this vaccine in order to protect our patients.

OK then. How do you know that you are protected once you receive the vaccination? I am sure most realize that it is not highly effective. I believe the best percentage is around 62% effective? So if 100 Nurses receive the vaccination then on average 38 of them will not develop any immunity that would prevent them from being a carrier.

So how do you know which ones will be Ok and which ones will not?

To mandate a vaccination in which there may not be any benefit for the person ( or others around them) is just wrong.

Personally I feel that all hcws should be wearing masks while at work and be bound by professional responsibility to maintain the proper infection control protocols---but wait--can we do that?? Lol--heck no? Why? Because CMS has not required the hospitals too and it would cost hospitals a lot of money to implement this correctly.

If you want to truly protect your patients from influenza--then do so. To begin with lobby your hospital to develop better handwashing, cough, sneeze containment, restricting visitors, Dr participation, adequate staffing, and proper patient placement.

Advise them that it is not acceptable for one nurse to be caring for 3 patients with contagious illnesses and 2 patients that have compromised immune systems --at the same time!

It seems to me that this infleunza vaccination has become a miracle worker--lol

This world sure is crazy and people sure are funny.

wooh, BSN, RN · Jan 24, 2013

Since certain people, for medical reasons, cannot be vaccinated, those people must take other measures to reduce the risk of passing flu on to the patients. Requiring non-vaccinated nurses to wear masks during flu season is not a punitive measure but a preventative one.

No. It's a PUNITIVE measure. If it was TRULY a preventative measure, then everyone not vaccinated against the strain of flu B that's going around would be wearing a mask. Because our patients are VULNERABLE. Oh, that's right, nobody is vaccinated against that strain because it wasn't included. But is everyone wearing masks? No. Because hospitals don't give a flying rat about "the vulnerable patients." They care about having to pay for people taking sick days during times of high census. Flu vax prevents some staff from getting sick and calling in. It has NOTHING to do with protecting patients and everything to do with protecting the hospital's profit margin.

begosh · Jan 24, 2013

I've never had the flu vaccine in my life...and now this. Hopefully, no untoward reactions. I'll find out next month.

pronurse45 · Jan 24, 2013

Vaccine is not just about ourselves!so let's just comply