Survey: 87% favor mandatory health worker H1N1 shots

i am going to get mine but this attitude is wrong. If hospitals want to protect patients then offer the pt the flu shot if they refuse so be it. Vax defensively not offensively. If a pt doesn't want the flu they will get a shot. It is a good idea in theory to make HCWs shoulder the burden of herd immunity but pts have a responsibility to protect themselves first.

and we have the option to protect ourselves too. Although I will say that my mom is older and will not be able to get an H1N vax right away. That being the case I would not want her cared for by someone unvaxd for H1N1. If pts don't want unvaxd HCWs in their room due to a shortage of, or inability to get an H1N1 vax from their docs then they should be allowed to put a sign on their door to not allow unvaxd HCWs in their room. Itis about protecting yourself-not forcing others to do what they don't want to.

what really has me turned off tho is that pharm co.s have indemnity (?) from being sued if the vax is faulty. THAT has us scared. "It is just like all flu vaxs" (but in case it isn't you still can't sue us!)? Their legal defense is what scares HCWs

87% of spoon fed sheeple's opinion still doesn't mean I'm going to overlook what I know about what goes into vaccines that I'd like to keep out of my body. I wonder what percentage of that 87% has McSupersized themselves into high risk for avoidable diseases that put a strain on the health care system in the first place?

This isn't a popularity contest. OK, 87% of all nurses polled feel that every patient in the hospital gets a sleeping pill at night. Now it's mandatory.

If this was REALLY about patient safety, all STAFF, VISITORS and patients would have MANDATORY vaccinations. NO vaccination proof, you NO VISIT!

We need nurse satisfaction scores initiated by press gainey. To think my peers have bought into this crock

That same sign should also state that NO UNVACCINATED VISITORS are allowed in this room.
But pts would complain that they have the RIGHT to have anyone come visit them. Vaccinated or unvaccinated, ( unmasked with unwashined hands, sneezing, coughing, hugging, and kissing on them) because it makes them feel better having their loved ones around them.

What's the point?

Just to add i have taken care of a couple of pts recently who were tested +ve for H1N1 and i was banging my head aginst the wall with visitors who despite being constantly reminded and informed of the need for gowns gloves and masks and huge signs on the door and all the equipment there were still found in the room without protection and i even walked in one day to find a todler in there climbing all over the bed i just couldnt beleive my eyes. I was absoloutly paranoid about about protection i scubbed my hands used purell like it had gone out of fashion.
Just also to claify a point i have the flu shot and pneumonia shot and got flu last yr and pneumonia this yr and anyone who knows me i was very ill indeed but would still opt for the shots, but am seriously thinking long and hard about the H1N1 shot and doing my research just like everyone else and am totaly against madatory shots, although i would definatly be in favor of strictly no visits to all H1N1 cases after my experience.

The hospitals would never go for a "no visiting" policy for a confirmed H1N1 pt.
It would upset the pts too much, and cause possible "panic". Which the government seems determined to avoid at all costs.

The govt is determined to avoid "panic" at all costs?

Yes.
And this is why I feel that way.
1) If H1N1 pts were not allowed visitors, can you imagine the panic that family members and the community would feel? "This virus is SO bad that we are not allowed to even visit our loved one!" "This virus must be worst than we have been told." "What are they doing for/to our family member that we are not even allowed to know?" Besides everyone knows, thanks to Reader's Digest, that family members need to be at the bedside every second to document who is doing what to our loved one. The government has not recommended restriction of visitors to reduce the spread of H1N1 or to even reduce the chance of giving H1N1 to our immunocompromised pts by visitors. Many of us on these threads feel (not evidence based of course) that the visitor situation must be addressed to truly protect our pts. The government is leading us to believe that the situation is under control as long as HCW's are vaccinated and some populations receive the H1N1 vax. Thats it.
2) There has been a thread on allnurses about whether or not there is enough ECMO capability to handle a pandemic. As far as I know, the government's main leg to stand on is mandatory vaccination of HCW's and vaccination of certain populations. They have made no arrangements for having enough vaccines for the whole population. Have hospitals been sent extra money to purchase extra masks, meds, ect. As far as I know, there have been no added beds to hospitals or additional staff hired to deal with a
H1N1 pandemic. In fact, there will probably be less HCW's due to the no vaccine/no job campaign.
3) TPTB have decided not to close schools or even notify parents of significant outbreaks of confirmed H1N1 in schools. The government has decided not to let parents decide whether or not to keep their kids at home. Parents might "panic" and keep their kids home and then the kids will either go to the mall or the parents will miss work. There will be "economic" consequences.
4) Medscape Nsg. (a pretty middle of the road source) had an article about how hospitals in 15 states will run out of beds in a full-scale H1N1 pandemic. (Please don't ask me to post the link--I don't know how--my teen is not here to help me now--just do a search--check Swine Flu Alert Center. It went on to say that if only 35% of people came down with the virus, 15 states (including California 125% capacity and my state Virginia 100% capacity, and Delaware 203%) would be at or over bed capacity. This is assuming, in their words, the pandemic was "mild". Another 12 states would reach 75%-99% capacity.

Many feel that we are not getting the "whole story" about what the government has planned to do or if they have even made plans if the pandemic goes beyond the "mild" stage. All we hear are get HCW's vax and other populations vax (if there are any available) and that is it. If the pandemic is as bad as many on these threads say it will be, I don't think the government is able or willing to do what might be necessary to do. If the government has made plans (some possibly drastic), they aren't informing the American people of what they plan to do.