Nurses fired for refusing flu vaccine

Nurses COVID

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While I personally do not like the flu shot either.... I have been required to get a Hep B vaccine, MMR all current, etc etc .... so not sure how this is so different?

http://news.yahoo.com/nurses-fired-refusing-flu-shot-224637902--abc-news-health.html

Specializes in Critical Care.

I'm not getting the religious exemption argument, maybe someone can enlighten me.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Some of the hospital systems where I live already mandate the flu vaccine and I fear more hospitals will follow suit! Feel like we are in a police state where we have lost the rights over our own bodies. I do not want to be vaccinated have seen too many GB victims of flu vaccine in the past and wonder if some of the autoimmune diseases like MS aren't the result of vaccination! I don't push the patients to take the vaccine either, I feel they should have to sign a consent detailing the serious negative complications that could arise from the vaccine. I do not want to be the one to give them a vaccine that could seriously harm them because big pharma wants to make money off the vaccine culture! They have no liability for adverse effects, ie they don't even stand behind their product! If you are injured you have to file a case with the US govt!

we have seen and treated ALOT of patients with the flu who DID receive the vaccination this year. Isn't that ironic???

Specializes in kids.

As to the religious exemption

I think they declined to get the vaccine and when pushed, claimed "Religious exemption" but probably had nothing in their personal/school vaccine records/medical history that supported that. (previous refusal of other vaccines/declared as a Jehovah's Witness etc) The hospital saw it as an out of getting the vaccine vs a true religous conviction stated against it.

I see it all the time in school nursing, parents who don't want their kids vaccinated for whatever reason. They cannot claim medical exemption as there are no underlying allergies/immune system issues so then they try philosophical (not recognized in my state) and then they will try and get a religious expemption. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

I then am responsible for excluding them in the event of an outbreak (pertussis comes to mind)

I am responsible to all the children, those whose parent do not want an exemption and those who are at risk due to them being on chemo or having a congenital immune system defect.

I personally get the vaccine every year and am rarely ill.

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

I don't think people should be forced to take it, but bottom line is that I would never take a stand that would threaten my family's financial security over a flu shot.

Now, if it was some highly toxic deadly chemical that would be one thing, but over a flu vaccine? No way.

Specializes in emergency, psy, case management.

Like laidbacl al has posted we all need to educate ourselves and not just take what certain publications publish as the facts. The CDC is biased toward influenza vaccinations for example. If you do not believe that ..i urge you to research. Now the CDC is not participating in any conspiratorial theory's lol I dont mean that, but they do have a tendency to present statistics greatly in favor of influenza vaccination efficiency. Look into that.

The influenza vaccination effectiveness depends basically on 2 factors: These being:

1-if it is a good match with the virus's that are causing influenza infections this year

2-how well the persons immunity system reacts with the vaccine ( more than a small percentage of people do not react favorably with it).

Now if your immune system did not react to the vaccine in the way it is "suppose" too then you will not be protected. You have no way of knowing if the vaccination "took" or not. This means that yes you still can get influenza even though you received the flu shot.

I know as nurses we personalty know people that this has happened too.

Does this make the flu shot bad? No! It just means that we need to be aware of the limitations of influenza vaccinations and act appropriately.

As far as hospitals making the flu shot mandatory--why do you think this is all of a sudden mandatory? The flu shot has been available for a more than a decade. What changed? Why, all of a sudden hospitals decided to do this? If you think it is for patient protection--does that mean that during all those previous years the hospitals were not interested in patient protection?

Really think about this Nurses--dont just react to it.

100% agree with admin vaccines - yes bla bla bla i hv read the pros and cons.

I used to work in a nursing home. I was never worried about getting the flu myself, I was worried about transmitting it to my residents.

How would you feel if you gave the flu to someone's grandma and she died? Or 20 grandmas (since flu spreads so easily)? I couldn't handle that thought, so I always got my vaccines and smiled.

It makes me angry when I hear the uneducated posture about how their body is a temple, yadda yadda yadda. If you have a documented allergy, then don't take it. Otherwise, stop being so selfish and protect your patients from yourself. If you absolutely can't bring yourself to take it, wear a mask and gloves around all of your patients during the flu season.

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Olddragger,

I think they are actually testing a medication that makes people more compliant to the US Govt forces. Am I right? Is this what you think too? :roflmao::eek::***:

Specializes in MPCU.

"The swine flu vaccination in 1976 may have caused rare cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome. However, the swine flu and the regular flu vaccines used today have not resulted in more cases of the illness." from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001704/

You may actually increase your chances of GB by not getting the flu vaccine, since a flu infection is a precipitating factor for GB.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Emergency, CEN.

http://news.yahoo.com/nurses-fired-refusing-flu-shot-224637902--abc-news-health.html

An Indiana hospital has fired eight employees, including at least three veteran nurses, after they refused mandatory flu shots, stirring up controversy over which should come first: employee rights or patient safety.
Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

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