Reasons for Flu Vaccine Reluctancy

[Kimberly111-13]

Hello, I'm a pre-nursing student who has a few questions about influenza vaccination for a class assignment.

What are the reasons for reluctancy of receiving the influenza vaccination by nurses and nurse assistants?

Would it be helpful if the healthcare facility provided an educational influenza vaccine program that addressed these issues so that well-informed, evidence-based choices can be made by these healthcare workers?

If a healthcare facility provided a positive incentive to receive the influenza vaccination, would that influence your decision?

Thank you for your time,

Kimberly

[indigo girl]

I don't know about that article. Sound kind of flimsy. They don't give any sources at all for what they claim has happened.

Narcolepsy? 6 cases in France and some cases in Sweden and Finland out of 6 million vaccinated without side effects with Pandemrix, and no real proven link yet. Actually, sounds pretty safe from this side effect. No cases in the US or elsewhere that I am aware of.

Europe Probes Swine Flu Shot, Narcolepsy Link - CBS News

One particular vaccine used in Australia may have caused fevers and possible convulsions in some kids under 5 there, but the other vaccines used there did not, and no where else that I am aware of. Understandably, parents are nervous about this, but no other swine flu vax has had this reported side effect, only CSL.

Australia blames a flu vaccine for child convulsions - health - 04 October 2010 - New Scientist

GBS cases? Where are they? The following is the only one that might possibly be associated with the swine flu vax that I could find. Where are the others?

GBS a Side Effect of H1N1 Vaccine? - The Early Show - CBS News

[SweettartRN]

I don't get it, and won't get it- ever.

It's my body, my choice, and I feel that God gave me an immune system for a reason and I don't want to mess around with it anymore that I have to.

[martinhea13]

Hi Everyone,

Just received this and thought I'd share. It is the most comprehensive list of books on the subject of vaccine safety that I've ever seen.

1.A Century Of Vaccination And What It Teaches, by W. Scott Tebb, M.M.A., M.D.

2.A Criminal Consequence of Vaccine Injury: Misdiagnosed Shaken Baby Syndrome, by Alan G. Phillips, Esq.

3.A Shot in the Dark, by Harris L. Coulter and Barbara Loe Fisher

4.A Stolen Life, by Marge Grant

5.Adverse Events Associated With Childhood Vaccines: Evidence Bearing on Causality ,by Kathleen R. Stratton, Ph.D., Cynthia J. Howe

6.AIDS And the Doctors of Death: An Inquiry into the Origin of the AIDS Epidemic, by Alan Cantwell, M.D.

7.AIDS, the Mystery and the Solution, by Alan Cantwell, M.D.

8.Anthrax a Deadly Shot in the Dark: Unmasking the Truth Behind a Hazardous Vaccine, by Lt. Col. Thomas S. Heemsra

9.Behavioral Problems in Childhood: The Link to Vaccination, by Viera Scheibner, Ph.D.

10.Bodily Matters: The Anti-Vaccination Movement in England 1853-1907, by Nadja Durbach, Ph.D., M.A., B.A.

11.Changing the Course of Autism, by Bryan Jepson, M.D.

12.Children With Starving Brains, by Jaquelyn McCandless, M.D.

13.Confessions of a Medical Heretic, by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.

14.Dangers of Compulsory Immunizations: How to Avoid Them Legally, by Tom Finn, Esq.

15.Detoxify Or Die, by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D.

16.Dissent in Medicine: Nine Doctors Speak Out, by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.

17.Don't Vaccinate Before You Educate, by Mayer Eisenstein M.D., J.D., M.P.H.

18.Dr. Mary's Monkey: How the Unsolved Murder of a Doctor, a Secret Laboratory in New Orleans and Cancer-Causing Monkey Viruses are Linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, ... Assassination and Emerging Global Epidemics, by Edward T. Haslam

19.Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola: Nature, Accident or Intentional?, by Leonard Horowitz, D.M.D., M.A., M.P.H.

20.Every Second Child, by Archie Kalkoerinos, M.D., M.B.B.S., F.A.P.M.

21.Everybody's Guide to Homeopathic Medicines, by Stephen Cummings, M.D.

22.Evidence of Harm, by David Kirby

23.Fear of the Invisible, by Janine Roberts

24.Fowl! Bird Flu: It's Not What You Think, by Sherri Tenpenny, D.O.

25.Germs, Biological Warfare, Vaccinations: What you Need to Know, by Gary Null, Ph.D.

26.Horrors of Vaccination Exposed and Illustratedby Chas. M. Higgins, M.D.

27.How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor, by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.

28.ICD-999 Vaccine Induced Diseases: The Chronic Serum Sickness Postulate, by Patrick Jordan

29.Immunization Dice, by Michael J. Brody, Ph.D.

30.Immunization: The Reality Behind the Myth, by Walene James

31.Immunizations: The Terrible Risks Your Children Face That Your Doctor Won't Reveal, by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.

32.Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy, by Amy Lansky, Ph.D.

33.Inoculation Dangers to Travelers, etc., by Maurice Beddow Bayly, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.

34.Inside the FDA: The Business and Politics Behind the Drugs We Take and the Food We Eat, by Fran Hawthorne

35.Jabs, Jenner and Juggernauts, by Jenny Craig

36.Just a Little Prick, by Peter and Hilary Butler

37.Leicester: SANITATION versus VACCINATION, by J.T. Biggs

38.Lethal Injections Why Immunizations Don't Work and the Damage they Cause, by William Douglass, M.D.

39.Medicine On Trial, by Charles B. Inlander, Lowell S. Levine, Ed Weinter

40.Mercury: The Winged Messenger, by Courtney L. Zietzke

41.On the Take: How Medicine's Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health, by Jerome Kassirer, M.D.

42.Out of Silence: An Autistic Boy's Journey into Language and Communication, by Russell Martin

43.Pasteur, Plagiarist, Impostor! The Germ Theory Exploded!, by R. B. Pearson

44.Queer Blood: The Secret AIDS Genocide Plt, by Alan Cantwell, M.D.

45.Racketeering in Medicine: The Suppression of Alternatives, by James P. Carter, M.D.

46.Raising a Vaccine Free Child, by Wendy Lydall

47.Saying No to Vaccines: A Resource Guide For All Ages, by Sherri Tenpenny, D.O.

48.Science in the Private Interest: Has the Lure of Profits Corrupted Biomedical Research?, by ZSheldon Krimsky, M.S., Ph.D.

49.Science, Money and Politics: Political Triumph and Ethical Erosion, by Daniel S. Greenberg

50.Selling Sickness: How the World's Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients, by Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassells

51.Shaken Baby Syndrome Diagnosis on Shaky Ground, by Viera Scheibner, Ph.D.

52.Silenced Witnesses: v.II: The Parents Story: The Denial of Vaccine Damage by Government, Corporations and the Media

53.Some Call it AIDS: I Call it Murder, The Connection Between Cancer, AIDS, Immunizations, and Genocide, by Eva Snead M.D.

54.State of Immunity: The Politics of Vaccination in Twentieth Century America, by James Colegrove, Ph.D., M.P.H.

55.Swine Flu Exposed, by Eleanore McBean, Ph.D., N.D.

56.Terror of Pediatric Medicine, by Mark Sircus, Ac., O.M.D.

57.The Authoritative Guide to Vaccine Legal Exemptions, by Alan G. Phillips, Esq.

58.The Case Against Vaccination, by Walter Hadwen, J.P., M.D., L.R.C.p., M.R.C.S., L.S.A.

59.The Chickenpox Vaccine: A new epidemic of disease and corruption, by Mark Orrin and Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D.

60.The Decline of Tuberculosis Despite "Protective" Vaccination, by Gerhard Buchwald, M.D.

61.The Fraud of Vaccination, by Walter Hadwen, J.P., M.D., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., L.S.A.

62.The Great HPV Vaccine Hoax Exposed, by Mike Adams

63.The Hidden Dangers in Polio Vaccine, by Eleanor McBean, Ph.D., N.D.

64.The Immunisation Decision, by Randall Neustaedter, O.M.D.

65.The Immunization Resource Guide: Where to Find Answers to All Your Questions About Childhood Vaccinations, by Diane Rozario

66.The Infant Survival Guide: Protecting Your Baby from the Dangers of Crib Death, Vaccines and Other Environmental Hazards, by Lendon H. Smith, M.D.

67.The Medical Mafia: How to Get Out of It Alive and Take Back Our Health and Wealth, by Guylaine Lanctot, M.D.

68.The Poisoned Needle: Suppressed Facts about Vaccination, by Eleanor McBean, Ph.D., N.D.

69.The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination is Not Immunization, by Tim O'Shea, D.C.

70.The Story of The Salk Anti-poliomyelitis Vaccine, by Maurice Beddow Bayly, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.

71.The Trial of The Medical Mafia, by Joachim Schafer

72.The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It, by Marcia Angell, M.D.

73.The Vaccination Connection, by Sue Marston

74.The Vaccination Nonsense, by Gerhard Buchwald, M.D.

75.The Vaccination Problem, by Joseph Swan

76.The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice , by Randall Neustaedter, O.M.D.

77.The Virus and the Vaccine: The True Story of A Cancer-Causing Monkey Virus, Contaminated Polio Vaccines, and the Millions of Americans Exposed, by Debbie Bookchin and Jim Schumacher

78.Universal Immunization: Medical Miracle or Masterful Mirage, by Raymond Obomsawin, Ph.D.

79.Vaccine-Free Prevention and Treatment with Homeopathy, by Jeffrey J. Starre, M.D.

80.Vaccines: The Risks, the Benefits, the Choices, a Resource Guide for Parents, by Sherri Tenpenny, D.O.

81.Vaccines: Vital or Vulnerable, by Archie Kalokerinos, M.D., M.B.B.S., F.A.P.M., Glen Dettman, A.M.M., B.A., Ph.D., F.A.P.M.

82.Vaccination: 100 Years of Orthodox Research Shows Vaccinations are a Medical Assault on the Immune System, by Viera Scheibner, Ph.D.

83.Vaccination- A Business Based on Fear, by Gerhard Buchwald, M.D.

84.Vaccination- A Fatal Error, by Bronwyn Hancock, B.S., Cert. Nutr.

85.Vaccination- A Parent's Dilemma, by Greg Beattie

86.Vaccination and Behavioral Disorders: a review of the controversy, by Greg Wilson

87.Vaccinations & Immunization: Dangers, Delusions and Alternatives, by Leon Chaitow, D.O., N.D.

88.Vaccination, Social Violence and Criminality, the Medical Assault on the American Brain, by Harris L. Coulter, Ph.D.

89.Vaccination: The Cruel Deception, by Christian Borleis

90.Vaccination: "The Hidden" Facts, by Ian Sinclair, Dipl. Nutr.

91.Vaccination is not Immunization by Tim O'Shea DC (formerly titled The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination is not Immunization)

92.Vaccination The Silent Killer: A Clear And Present Danger, by Ida Honorof, Eleanor McBean, PhD., N.D.

93.Vaccinations: Deception & Tragedy, by Michael Dye

94.Vaccinations: The Issue of Our Times, by Peggy O'Mara

95.Vaccinations: The Rest of the Story, by Peggy O'Mara

96.Vaccinations: The Untold Truth, by Yves DeLatte

97.Vaccine A: The Covert Government Experiment That's Killing Our Soldiers-And Why GIs Are Only the First Victims, by Gary Matsumoto

98.Vaccine Safety Manual for Concerned Families and Health Practitioners, by Neil Z. Miller

99.Vaccines: An Ounce of Prevention? Or a Pound of Death?, by Keidi Obi Awadu

100.Vaccines Are Dangerous: A Warning to the Black Community, by Yoshua Barak

101.Vaccines Are Dangerous: A Warning to the Global Community 2nd Edtion, by Curtis Cost

102.Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective, by Neil Z. Miller

103.What About Immunizations? Exposing the Vaccine Philosophy, by Cynthia Cournoyer

104.What Every Parent Should Know About Childhood Immunizations, by Jamie Murphy

105.What The Pharmaceutical Companies Don't Want You To Know About Vaccines, by Todd Elsner, D.C.

106.What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations, by Stephanie Cave, M.D. F.A.A.F.P.

107.When Your Doctor Is Wrong, Hepatitis B Vaccine and Autism, by Judy Converse, M.P.H., R.D.

108.White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception, by Sarah Collins Honenberger, J.D.

109.Your Personal Guide to Immunization Exemptions, by Grace Girdwain

[grannyrn65]

Since it appears that many who are objecting to the use of vaccinations were born and vaccinated after many came into being, I thought I share some of my nursing experience with you all. I started my career in the mid 60's. I remember the yearly outbreak of childhood diseases and the complications that occurred. While most children did not suffer these complications,enough did and bore the long term consequences of these complications.

Polio Longterm/life time paralysis.

Mumps Lose of fertility, deafness,encephalitis

Measles Shingles, encephalitis

Chicken pox Secondary infection

There are other complications, which have slipped my mind, but I do recall, as a youngster children being terrible ill from childhood disease. And having a friend or two who suffered the long term consequences.

Over the years I have followed and looked into, claims by those against childhood vaccinations. There have been scientifically based studies that have reached the conclusion that these vaccination are not the cause of autism. Or that 'live' vaccinations actually cause the individual to suffer from the disease. And those who state they got the 'flu shot'and then got the flu, you didn't. The illness one gets following a flu vaccination is not the flu. The flu actually is a very serious illness. It is much more then just vomiting and having diarrhea. And the complications, including pneumonia,do kill., especially in the young and elderly.

Everyone has the right to refuse to get vaccinations. But the rest of us have the right to be protected from those that refuse. If it means isolating you or restricting your ability to work, that goes with your exercising your 'right'. Every vaccination and drug has side effects. But I would hate to go back to the days when the only thing available was the smallpox vaccination. Given the ease that one can travel, one can spread disease much easier.

For those that refuse various vaccinations, for themselves or their children, I pray you donot get any of these illness. And if you do, I pray that I don't come in contact with you, I don't want to take the chance of getting sick. I suffer from several chronic disease and am quite careful about exposures. I even call to check before going to visit them. This granny doesn't take chances :)

GrannyRN65

[NightNurse876]

Everyone has the right to refuse to get vaccinations. But the rest of us have the right to be protected from those that refuse. If it means isolating you or restricting your ability to work, that goes with your exercising your 'right'. Every vaccination and drug has side effects. But I would hate to go back to the days when the only thing available was the smallpox vaccination. Given the ease that one can travel, one can spread disease much easier.

For those that refuse various vaccinations, for themselves or their children, I pray you donot get any of these illness. And if you do, I pray that I don't come in contact with you, I don't want to take the chance of getting sick. I suffer from several chronic disease and am quite careful about exposures. I even call to check before going to visit them. This granny doesn't take chances :)

GrannyRN65

So do you not take care of patients without them having the flu vaccine?

I've never had the yearly flu vaccine and don't plan on getting it...so bc I don't want it I should loose my right to make a living the way a choose?

Why is it flu vaccine or die for some people? The flu vaccine contains the predicted most common strains for the year so one can get a strain that isn't covered by the yearly vaccine...so I must take this vaccine that is a gestimate of helpfulness every year while taking care of patients who may not have gotten theirs and work side by side other employees who are mandated to get the shot either? What you say sounds good but it's not realistic in my opinion...but hey to each his own...

[Laidback Al]

So do you not take care of patients without them having the flu vaccine?

"My patient didn't get vaccinated, so why should I". Certainly there are patients that may have not been vaccinated before the accident or illness. But that is no excuse for a trained HCW to refuse a vaccination required by the employer. Everyone should get an annual flu vaccination.

I've never had the yearly flu vaccine and don't plan on getting it...so bc I don't want it I should loose my right to make a living the way a choose?

I've always understood the primary reason for a HCW to get a vaccination is to minimize the spread of a disease among the sick or compromised patients with whom you work, as well as protecting you from a serious infection yourself.

You are always free to infect yourself with what ever you want, but why take it out on your patients and co-workers and possibly infect them? By virtue of choosing the nursing profession, you have chosen to work in a setting where you come in contact with a lot of different people everyday. The employer requirement of influenza vaccination is designed to not only protect you but everyone around you that you come in contact with everyday in the workplace.

I think you might be happier making a living in a work setting where you don't interact with too many people and where you employer will not require vaccinations. Two such jobs that come to mind are keypunch operator and typewriter repair person.

[martinhea13]

How many people in hospital aquire the flu from being in the hospital around other people who have the flu? any numbers?

It's my understanding that the common cold is more communicable in hospital than the flu. Seriously, how many people who are in for a surgical procedure die from getting the flu from their caregiver? (and you can't tell me that every nurse gets a flu shot).

Just asking for some proofs to go with the best practices being thrown around.

[NightNurse876]

"my patient didn't get vaccinated, so why should i". certainly there are patients that may have not been vaccinated before the accident or illness. but that is no excuse for a trained hcw to refuse a vaccination required by the employer. everyone should get an annual flu vaccination.

there are other options than getting the vaccine. i will wear a mask at work...you feel everyone should get a flu vaccine thats fine, but you can not force someone to period. and it's not an excuse. as it says in my post other hospital employees that come in contact with patients and nurses are not required. also i think i would consider the flu vaccine if it came that way at my hospital without the h1n1 mixed in it...but that's another subject. if the maker of a vaccine will not take it or give it to there children, i don't want it, period!

i've always understood the primary reason for a hcw to get a vaccination is to minimize the spread of a disease among the sick or compromised patients with whom you work, as well as protecting you from a serious infection yourself.

you are always free to infect yourself with what ever you want, but why take it out on your patients and co-workers and possibly infect them? by virtue of choosing the nursing profession, you have chosen to work in a setting where you come in contact with a lot of different people everyday. the employer requirement of influenza vaccination is designed to not only protect you but everyone around you that you come in contact with everyday in the workplace.

well thank goodness for sick days. if i get sick i'm not allowed to go to work. also since this vaccine thing doesn't protect you 100% you can still get sick....nice how you left that part out when picking apart my post.

i think you might be happier making a living in a work setting where you don't interact with too many people and where you employer will not require vaccinations. two such jobs that come to mind are keypunch operator and typewriter repair person.

really? does the person at the restaurant you go to making your food have the shot? the cashier the gives you your reciept at the mall? everyone doesnt get the flu vaccine yearly, deal with it. please dont reply to this quote that working in the hospital is different and as a hcp blah blah, you've already stated that but in the end those people come in contact with more people and do people that ride the bus or train...guess you cant get on with ur annual!!

i know many nurses who work at hospitals that do not require a flu shot and they dont get any sicker than anyone else. you can talk all the crap you want about who should and who shouldn't. in all my time stepping for into a hospital for 2 to 3 days a week, not requiring a flu shot and not having one, i haven't been sick or gotten anyone sick. people like you should all but put in one town so you can mandate what people have to do in your own box. there are options and if i dont want to get it that doesn't mean i shouldn't be a nurse. i guess one would rather have a fully vaccinated idiot taking care of them...i wouldn't. my hospital has mandatory shots and the waiver will be signed and the mask will be worn everyday i go to work, the end.

and the mandated vaccine was started bc they realized nurses didn't want to get it...so they began to force it...

[grannyrn65]

To respond to one poster's question, would I take care of a hospitalized flu patient? If I were still working, I would have had the flu vaccination, so I would have been protected. So yes, I would have no problem taking care of a flu patient. But, based on more then thirty-five years of experience the 'flu' patients admitted to my facility, were admitted because of complications from the flu, such as pneumonia, severe dehydration.

In response to the 'mandated' vaccination, mandating or requiring vaccinations is not something new. I am sixty five years old. For the past sixty years, I have had to receive numerous mandated or required vaccinations. The ones I received as a child were mandated or required prior to living in Germany and Japan, by the U.S. Army. In the fifties, I and every other child received the Salk and then Sabin vaccinations for polio. I don't remember any parent refusing to vaccinate their children against polio or smallpox. The first mandated flu vaccination I ever received was as an employee of the New York State Department of Health and it was for the swine flu. Since I liked my job,I got the vaccination.

I can respect a person's refusal to get a vaccination if it is based on a religious belief. But when nurses, who have been educated to follow the science, offering personal beliefs or poorly constructed scientific proof as their reason or a fear of government requiring more and more, as a reason, I think someone needs a refresher course or two. Or perhaps you need a job in an area of nursing that doesn't require patient interaction. You will be protected and so will the rest of the world. I am not trying to insult anyone,just making on a valid suggestion, for all of our protection.

I do have a question. For those who do not want the flu vaccination, do you religiously follow universal precautions? Do you wash your hands prior to or upon entering a patient's room and after taking vital signs or a tratment or medication or giving a bath, or assisting a patient in a transfer or assisting another employee with a patient? If my own hospitalizations hold true, I was surprised at the number of physicians, house staff, nurses, transportation people, P.T., respiratory therapists, that frequently fail to do this simple preventive task. I have asthma, which has resulted in numerous hospitalizations and now have a reputation as the 'retired nurse'who requires everyone to wash their hands upon entering her room. So what:yeah: I'd rather have the reputation then pick up someone elses free traveling germ.

GrannyRN65

[NightNurse876]

Granny,

In your 65 years how long has it been mandatory to get the flu vaccine?

[grannyrn65]

Granny,

In your 65 years how long has it been mandatory to get the flu vaccine?

Thirty three years. I remember standing in line, in Tower One,with Dr. Warren Toff, Deputy Commissioner, and my boss. He felt since it was mandated,he was included. I don't think my employers, in Florida, mandated it but I do recall it being offered for free, to those that wanted one.

GrannyRN65

[NightNurse876]

Thirty three years. I remember standing in line, in Tower One,with Dr. Warren Toff, Deputy Commissioner, and my boss. He felt since it was mandated,he was included. I don't think my employers, in Florida, mandated it but I do recall it being offered for free, to those that wanted one.

GrannyRN65

I guess my concern lies in the H1N1 vaccine I know some ppl and have heard a few horror stories of reactions...I myself was given a bad batch of ppd for a skin test once so now I get chest x-rays bc it was unclear if my reaction was from exposure or the batch...And as much scientific evidence as there is to back up this topic you can find more against it. I guess that's part of my motivation to get into research in the coming years, so I can really have a true understanding of these things. Call me stubborn but I don't like to be forced to do something when I'm unsure of it...