Nurse: 'I was fired for refusing flu shot'

Nurses COVID

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If they're considering each refusal on a case-by-case basis, I wonder if there weren't other reasons that led to her dismissal. If she was claiming religious exemption, I wonder if the letter from her minister stated that her religion opposed vaccines. Religious exemptions are under more scrutiny these days b/c some people falsely claim it. Regardless, she did have a choice, just not one she favored.

I have never been an advocate of flu vaccines for everybody. First of all, it is an educated guess as to what vaccines are going to be active in the next flu season. Second, it is no guarantee that you are not going to get the flu anyway. Third, you are injecting a live virus--purposely receiving something that is not guaranteed to make you ill...i.e., the tainted flu vaccine from Great Britain. Fourth, it sets a precedent to receive whatever else mandatory that they have--weight loss, smoking, dietary habits, etc. The nursing market is tightening up in many areas and they can start making demands that any other employer could not make. What about lunch workers in a school cafeteria? What about teachers? Are they going to mandate it for all employees? I don't think being snippy towards those who would dare question the rationale is appropriate either. Asking questions--Isn't that a part of using nursing judgment?

Third, you are injecting a live virus--purposely receiving something that is not guaranteed to make you ill...i.e., the tainted flu vaccine from Great Britain. Fourth, it sets a precedent to receive whatever else mandatory that they have--weight loss, smoking, dietary habits, etc. The nursing market is tightening up in many areas and they can start making demands that any other employer could not make. What about lunch workers in a school cafeteria? What about teachers? Are they going to mandate it for all employees? I don't think being snippy towards those who would dare question the rationale is appropriate either. Asking questions--Isn't that a part of using nursing judgment?

The intranasal flu vaccine (Flumist) is the only flu vaccine that is a live (attenuated) virus. The inactivated flu vaccine administered IM is not live, and it's the one the majority receive. Lunch workers & teachers aren't as likely to be in contact with the acutely ill, immunocompromised as a nurse would be, so it makes more sense to me to vaccinate HCWs. Your last comment - I totally agree.

Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.

And the Beat Goes On....7cb7bf46.gif

Well folks, I just found this thread. The reason? Even though I started an ADN program in August and was able to sign off on a form saying I was not going to get the flu shot, we were just told it is now mandatory we get it by Nov 1. I am crushed. I was so happy when I saw I did not have to get the flu vaccine to attend nursing school. I have not talked to my instructors yet. I am trying to figure out what my rights are. I am not opposed to vaccines in general or even to giving vaccines. I have a very strong belief against mandating vaccines, in particular the flu shot as I see it as a different category than vaccines that have been shown and proven to be effective. I have an autoimmune disorder and so I was wondering if that is a medical exemption. I also have a minor latex allergy and some other allergies. I always have side effects to vaccines but nothing that they would call serious. I have been enjoying nursing school and it has been starting to become part of me. But this mandatory vaccine that infringes on my personal rights.....maybe the healthcare system doesn't want good, compassionate, loving, caring, smart, non-vaccinated nurses. :(

Well folks, I just found this thread. The reason? Even though I started an ADN program in August and was able to sign off on a form saying I was not going to get the flu shot, we were just told it is now mandatory we get it by Nov 1. I am crushed. I was so happy when I saw I did not have to get the flu vaccine to attend nursing school. I have not talked to my instructors yet. I am trying to figure out what my rights are. I am not opposed to vaccines in general or even to giving vaccines. I have a very strong belief against mandating vaccines, in particular the flu shot as I see it as a different category than vaccines that have been shown and proven to be effective. I have an autoimmune disorder and so I was wondering if that is a medical exemption. I also have a minor latex allergy and some other allergies. I always have side effects to vaccines but nothing that they would call serious. I have been enjoying nursing school and it has been starting to become part of me. But this mandatory vaccine that infringes on my personal rights.....maybe the healthcare system doesn't want good, compassionate, loving, caring, smart, non-vaccinated nurses. :(

A contact latex allergy and an autoimmune disease are not contraindications to flu vaccination. We are mandated to do many things as healthcare professionals that we may not want to do. Continue to be compassionate, and do not pass up a vaccine that may prevent you from passing an illness to your patients. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/should-not-vacc.htm#flu

I can tell from reading this thread that many nurses feel as I do. That's the thing. In order to do this I have to change my beliefs. Basically, it's someone getting inside my head telling me what I must believe and do to be a good nurse.

I can tell from reading this thread that many nurses feel as I do. That's the thing. In order to do this I have to change my beliefs. Basically, it's someone getting inside my head telling me what I must believe and do to be a good nurse.

No they're not.

We wear gloves as a precaution. Vaccines are a precaution. This is not an ethical or moral dilemma. I just got my first every flu shot last year and the conversation with my NP went something like this:

NP: You need a Flu shot.

Me: But [insert name of cool, young, attractive NP] I've never gotten one, why do I need one?

NP: Because if you're going to be a nurse you have to put other people first. Besides what's the worst that could happen Crazed?

Me: California could break along the fault line and fall off into the ocean.

NP: That's going to happen anyway but at least you'll have a flu shot.

Me: I have no counter argument to this.

They want us to think critically. Well, I'm a pretty critical thinker. Vaccines and glove wearing are not the same thing. I am taking a risk when I have something injected into my body. And, a patients life is NOT more important than my own. We are both people and our lives are each as important as the other.

Your conversation with the nurse barely scratched the surface of this issue.

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Biggest reason to get vaccinations including flu shot: Prevention death.

I guess growing up in 50's and 60's when we had childhood friends one day then 2 weeks later gone from measles, flu, whooping cough and having brother barely surviving 4 month interval battling several childhood diseases make me beat it to the PCP office for ongoing vaccinations /flu shot.

Or it could be the 100 + employees I'll be giving flu shots to in October.

From Children's Hospital of Philadelphia:

Welcome to the Vaccine Education Center

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Vaccine Education Center provides complete, up-to-date and reliable information about vaccines to parents and healthcare professionals. We provide videos, informational tear sheets, and information on every vaccine.

Our resources explain how vaccines work, how they are made, who recommends vaccines, when they should be given, if they are still necessary, and, most importantly, if they are safe.

Vaccines changed medicine

Vaccines have literally transformed the landscape of medicine over the course of the 20th century. Before vaccines, parents in the United States could expect that every year:

  • Polio would paralyze 10,000 children.
  • Rubella (German measles) would cause birth defects and mental retardation in as many as 20,000 newborns.
  • Measles would infect about 4 million children, killing about 500.
  • Diphtheria would be one of the most common causes of death in school-aged children.
  • A bacterium called Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) would cause meningitis in 15,000 children, leaving many with permanent brain damage.
  • Pertussis (whooping cough) would kill thousands of infants.

Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations before. For most Americans today, vaccines are a routine part of healthcare.

However, the disappearance of many childhood diseases has led some parents to question whether vaccines are still necessary. Further, a growing number of parents are concerned that vaccines may actually be the cause of diseases such as autism, hyperactivity, developmental delay, attention deficit disorder, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) among others. These concerns have caused some parents to delay vaccines or withhold them altogether from their children.

For more specific information on these concerns, visit the Vaccine Safety - Hot Topics and Vaccine Safety FAQs sections of our site.

The Center is funded by endowments from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The Center does not receive any support from vaccine manufacturers.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the nation's first children's hospital, has been a center of vaccine research and education for more than 125 years. For example, the rotavirus vaccine, a vaccine that prevents the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhea in children, was developed at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology.

Do the benefits of the influenza vaccine outweigh the risks?

The influenza vaccine can cause mild side effects. On the other hand, influenza hospitalizes and kills more people in this country than any other vaccine-preventable disease — about 200,000 hospitalizations and thousands to tens of thousands of deaths occur every year. Therefore, the benefits of the influenza vaccine clearly outweigh its risks.

Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.
Biggest reason to get vaccinations including flu shot: Prevention death.

I guess growing up in 50's and 60's when we had childhood friends one day then 2 weeks later gone from measles, flu, whooping cough and having brother barely surviving 4 month interval battling several childhood diseases make me beat it to the PCP office for vaccinations.

Or it could be the 100 + employees I'll be giving flu shots to in October.

From Children's Hospital of Philadelphia:

I'll 2nd. that emotion th_smiley-love021.gif.... Aloha~

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

The bottom line is that if you want to attend certain schools or work at certain facilities and they require the flu shot then you have to do it.

If you don't want to do it then do not go there.

All the millions of pages of philisophical (?sp) argument and righteous indignation do not change that.

There are plenty of things that employers can dictate and then you decide and vote with your feet.

I find it ludicrous to have all this yada yada on the subject.

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