Forced to get flu shot or wear a mask

[nurse0614]

Recently I heard our hospital will be forcing everyone to get a flu shot or they will have to wear a mask for their entire shift. I have had a reaction to it and usually just boost my immune system during flu season and this works well. I was told that even if we have had a reaction in the past and still don't get it, we wear a mask. This does not sit well with many of us at the hospital. Was wondering if others have experienced this and what they did.

[brownbook]

Boost Your Immune System (or Not)

Is "boosting your immune system" for real? Is that possible, and can you really buy it in a bottle?

by Brian Dunning

The immune system is more complex than quantum physics and thermodynamics combined.

Studies of concentration camps (WW II in Europe) showed that when epidemics of contagious diseases,i.e., measles, swept through the camps the inmates survived better than the relatively well fed, well clothed, guards!

These threads boost my blood pressure!

[Farawyn]

I thought I was the favorite character

You're like...3rd.

CL and that horse AV person are 1 and 2.

[elkpark]

Oh, no, is it new-flu-shot-thread season already????

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

We either get it or get terminated. If you have proof you had a reaction, or have had Guillen-Barre in the past you get to wear a mask from October until spring.

[Wuzzie]

I thought I was the favorite character

Boston, you'll always be a favorite but for a good reason not for being an outright wackadoo!

[KRVRN, BSN, RN]

It runs through March or so I believe.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Recently I heard our hospital will be forcing everyone to get a flu shot or they will have to wear a mask for their entire shift.

So, actually no one is going to "force" a vaccine on anyone. You have been given the option to retain your employment AND refuse the vaccine.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

And...the flu shot threads have begun.

[pookashellz]

I wish my company gave us a choice! i'd wear a mask for sure. Instead, the only people who aren't forced to get a flu shot as a condition of employment are the people who can get paperwork signed by a leader of an organized religion or who have documentation of having severe/anaphylactic allergy or Guillain-barre. Flu shots weren't a requirement when I started nursing school, or when I started working in the field. If it was, I definitely would have gone to school for something else. Legit considering starting to go to a Christian Science church before this year's flu shot deadline.

[elkpark]

Flu shots weren't a requirement when I started nursing school, or when I started working in the field. If it was, I definitely would have gone to school for something else. Legit considering starting to go to a Christian Science church before this year's flu shot deadline.

There's nothing stopping you from changing fields now, if you want to ... Lots of things have changed in nursing since I was in nursing school, and I'm sure things are going to continue to change. That's the nature of healthcare. Things change. You have the freedom to decide whether or not the current employment expectations are acceptable to you.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

Count yourself lucky, where I work you don't have a choice. You have to get the shot or be fired. The only exception is if you can prove you had guillain barre or an anaphylactic reaction. A committee then decides whether to accept your Dr's excuse or you lose your job. And if you are accepted you have to wear a mask at all times for the entire flu season!

Of course many people will tell you a flu shot is like taking vitamins, safe for everyone; and downplay the risks of paralysis and tell you it's your moral duty to get the flu shot. Funny how so many fellow health care workers are concerned about the various sundry duties a person must due to be a proper upstanding nurse! Don't you know you have to give up the right over your own body and what you put in it for this noble job!

I've taken care of several people with guillain barre from a flu shot, if it's so rare why have I seen it so often? FYI if you are older than 50 your risks are higher! Also Bells Palsy is linked to the flu shot as well, not as serious, but certainly physically upsetting!

That said many on here will post that you are ignorant and not a good nurse if you are against the flu shot or simply want to have the choice of what you put into your body. You will not find a sympathetic audience here on this issue, sad to say!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I really dislike the use of the word forced. Nobody is going to run up and jam a needle into you or tie a mask on your face. It is simply a condition of employment, which the employer has the right to both set upon hire and change as change is deemed necessary. If you choose not to meet the conditions of employment by either not getting the vaccine or not wearing the mask, then you no longer meet the criteria for continued employment. You can still make the choice to refuse the vaccine and refuse the mask. The employer has the right to provide consequences for it.