Mandatory Vaccination

[Rebel Yell]

New York and Massachusetts are making the H1N1 flu vaccine mandatory. Should it be? Is it that much of a threat to our health that is an emergency? (WHO says it is) And if you would be against getting the vaccination, how fair is the law in "punishing" you? How far is too far?

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/288/5/622

http://fas.org/sgp/crs/RS21414.pdf

http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/bg2315.cfm

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

Every year in the United States, on average:

• 5 to 20 percent of the population get the flu
  
• More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications
  
• About 36,000 people die from flu-related causes
  

5 to 20 percent of the population get the flu

More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications

About 36,000 people die from flu-related causes

(http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/about/seasonalflu/index.html#basics)

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Perhaps I wouldn't be so strongly against it for myself if we weren't trying to get pregnant. I am just not comfortable putting something in my body that hasn't been around a while with the knowledge that it might affect my baby too.

I realize the risk of complications from H1N1 are higher in pregnant women than in the genpop, but the incidence is still incredibly small, and I'm not entirely comfortable thinking that the incidence of complications from the vax might be higher than previously thought. Case in point, Gardasil.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Elvish, it's a personal decision, you don't have to continually post your justifications for not taking it do you? It's almost as if you're really trying to convince yourself. What do you care what people think. I for one respect that.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Not feeling the need to justify...just thinking out loud, LOL. Point taken all the same. :)

[GCTMT]

I will be getting the flu shot, and hopefully H1N1 too if I can. But, it's my choice and no one elses. A few weeks ago, I got a nasty cold and I felt miserable. I almost missed clinicals at school but I was able to push through. If a nasty cold can do that to me, I don't even want to think about what the flu can do. I can not afford to miss school or work, and I would feel terrible if I knew that I infected a resident or fellow classmate.

[cwazycwissyRN, RN]

New York and Massachusetts are making the H1N1 flu vaccine mandatory. Should it be? NO

Is it that much of a threat to our health that is an emergency? (WHO says it is) Who knows

And if you would be against getting the vaccination, how fair is the law in "punishing" you?

How far is too far? My mom gave me that speech a long time ago, it had something to do with letting someone else do things with my body, that I did not want them too, hmmmmm, and personal responsibility

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

position statement on the h1n1 influenza.

cna/nnoc position

1. as frontline caregivers at the heart of the health care system, cna/nnoc

strongly recommends that all registered nurses (rns) are vaccinated against the

h1n1influenza virus

2. any vaccination program for rns should include extensive education on the risks

and benefits of vaccination with an emphasis on patient protection and the need

to be prepared for a serious pandemic outbreak.

3. cna/nnoc supports an rn's right to decline vaccination

4. rns should be granted presumptive eligibility for workers compensation benefits

as a result of contracting the h1n1 influenza virus, and should not be subject to

disciplinary action by an employer due to absenteeism or illness resulting from

the vaccine

http://www.calnurses.org/swineflu/assets/pdf/h1n1_position-statement.pdf

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

Gah, I am kicking myself for missing the flu shot clinic provided by the hospital I work as a scribe at. Idiot! Now I better pony up $20 and find a Walgreen's.

And when H1N1 shots come around, I am not wasting any time. Now that I'm in nursing school, I can't fall behind.