22,000 Nurses Refuse *Mandatory* Vaccinations

[Surg-OncRN]

Today, there is an article posted on how 22,000 nurses are taking a stand against mandatory vaccination. These nurses are willing to lose their jobs to stand up for their Pro-choice rights. I have included the link below so you can read the article for yourself. Learn more about NAMV (Nurses Against Mandatory Vaccines)

NAMV was founded when mandatory vaccines were introduced in the workplace, and though it is not pro-vaccine OR anti-vaccine, it is certainly pro-CHOICE. NAMV members believe that all people should have the right to choose and refuse medical treatment, including nurses and healthcare workers.

22,000 Nurses Refuse *Mandatory* Vaccinations | Natural Society

Share your thoughts below

[LDAthleteNurse, BSN, RN]

Personally, I am GLAD that nurses who choose to not vaccinate themselves are not welcome to work in hospitals.

This article was sketchy at best. Not once did it provide a concrete source of research, only alluding to "studies shown". It also said that there is not a pneumonia vaccine available when in fact, there are currently 2 types of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13 or Prevnar 13®) and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23 or Pneumovax®).

This article, like many other anti vaccination articles provides dangerous misinformation. If any nurse decides she doesn't want to vaccinate, then she should not be welcome in the hospital. ESPECIALLY during flu season.

[macawake, MSN]

Today, there is an article posted on how 22,000 nurses are taking a stand against mandatory vaccination. These nurses are willing to lose their jobs to stand up for their Pro-choice rights.

I'm, curious, do these 22.000 nurses also decline/refuse to take the hepB vaccine series? Or do they protect themselves from that particular infection? If they do, what's the rationale behind that choice?

Since I've never heard of NAMV before I saw your post OP, I did a quick Google search.. and came up with this:

https://nursesagainstmandatoryvaccines.wordpress.com/

Partial quote from the above link:

Since we have started the #ShowMeYourMask campaign, we have received criticism, which we expected. There are those who want to argue, name call, use profanity, and not look at the truth of what we are facing- forced medical treatment in order to keep our jobs so that our employers can get a financial bonus.

One of the other questions that we have been asked is Can I ask for an unvaccinated nurse?” or Now that I know the nurses with masks are unvaccinated, can I ask for one of them?”

Of course along with that, we are getting people making claims that they will discriminate against these nurses and heatlhcare workers who have had their privacy violated, and request that they not be allowed to work with them or their families. We hope, and pray that this happens. Why you may ask? Because this is setting a perfect storm for a privacy violation and a discrimination lawsuit. The second that a patient asks this, and is granted this request, the HCP that is removed from caring for them now has a potential to make a huge change and set a precedent.

Two things to consider: 1.) this is no different than someone telling a hospital that they won't work with an African American nurse, or they won't work with someone of another sex than them. 2.) The privacy of the employee has been exposed to this patient, which is an HR violation, plain and simple. This patient now knows that, for whatever reason, this employee has not been vaccinated, and is using that to discriminate against them. This healthcare worker may have a legitimate medical or religious reason for not being vaccinated- but no matter!

If this happens to you, you need to do several things. First, document everything. Please be gracious, but also document everything. Including the patient that put in this request, because they WILL be held liable for their illegal actions. Document the supervisor that asked you to step aside, the patient that put in the request, and the situation surrounding this. Secondly, and don't wait for this, file an EEOC complaint IMMEDIATELY for discrimination purposes. Be sure to document in your EEOC complaint the religious or medical reason for your declination of the vaccine! Third, find an employment lawyer. Find one who specializes in discrimination complaints. Put them on standby, and let them know that this will be a landmark case, and there will be thousands of us waiting to line up and hire them.

On top of this, you can very likely sue the patient in civil court for discrimination, pain and suffering, and a host of other civil terms in order to recoup some financial loss, and to embarrass this patient publicly for their blatant ignorance and discriminatory practice. The recommendation would be to contact every single news media in your area and let them know what this person did. (Without violating HIPAA, of course.)

(my bold)

Is this really how this organization feels or is it the opinion of one or a few members? Am I missing something here?

I'm actually shocked by the suggestion to sue a vulnerable patient who may be immunocompromised and scared of being infected with influenza simply because they requested that their nurse be vaccinated. That's just wrong. I seriously hope that I misread/misunderstood the link I quoted.

"Discriminating" against someone based on "vaccine-status" is in my opinion not even remotely the same as discriminating against a person based on their race. The latter is discrimination in my opinion, the former isn't.

Edited to add:

OP, you say that NAMV is neither anti-vaccine or pro-vaccine but the more I read they really do sound rather "anti".

In the hospital I work the influenza vaccine actually isn't mandatory but is offered to all HCW's each fall. I take it, every year. It's not a difficult decision, I do what I can to protect my patients and myself.

[ED Nurse, RN]

I really don't understand how educated medical professionals refuse vaccinations. You have a duty to protect your patients and you are doing a serious disservice to those patients by exposing them to potentially life threatening illnesses- most notably the immunosuppressed population. I would be livid if I had a family member, who was one of the aforementioned in the hospital, and a non vaccinated nurse took care of them. There is no credible research for this topic, and I question a nurses judgement when they make such a poor choice that impacts not only them, but the population they took an oath to protect.

[elkpark]

Of course those individuals are welcome to choose to decline the vaccination. They are also welcome to find an employer who doesn't mind that they refuse to engage in basic public health prevention activities that are standard across US healthcare.

The idea that they could sue a client for "discrimination" for refusing an unvaccinated nurse is ludicrous. Since when is choosing to decline vaccination a protected group?? "Pain and suffering"???

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

There is not enough known about the flu vaccine and especially the newer versions such as flublok, IMO.

[JoseQuinones]

Jan 28 by ED Nurse, BSN RN, BSN

I really don't understand how educated medical professionals refuse vaccinations. You

Well, it is generally my experience that the likelihood of a nurse to refuse a vaccine is inversely related to their level of real medical knowledge. Some people willfully suppress the medical knowledge that is available to them for a variety of reasons, holding onto preconceptions they brought with them when they applied to nursing school.

Arguing with an anti-vaxxer is like arguing with a religious cultist or a political partisan. Their ego is invested in their opinion. Don't waste your breath.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Comparing discrimination against a non-vaxxed nurse to that of one who is black or gay, for example, is obscene. And ludicrous.

[JoseQuinones]

4:48 pm by SmilingBluEyes

Comparing discrimination against a non-vaxxed nurse to that of one who is black or gay, for example, is obscene. And ludicrous.]

Agreed. And actually, that was why the adults in the room urged the gay movement and other movements to find a non-government-imposed solution to their just grievances. Because we knew that all kinds of weirdoes were going to come along and demand their piece of the grievance pie as soon as the precedent was set.

Didn't you hear that students are falling on their fainting couches, demanding for Martin Luther King to be removed from buildings now because he wasn't inclusive” enough?

‘Excluded' by the Rev. Martin Luther King — a new low in campus PC | New York Post

[ED Nurse, RN]

Agreed. And actually, that was why the adults in the room urged the gay movement and other movements to find a non-government-imposed solution to their just grievances. Because we knew that all kinds of weirdoes were going to come along and demand their piece of the grievance pie as soon as the precedent was set.

Didn't you hear that students are falling on their fainting couches, demanding for Martin Luther King to be removed from buildings now because he wasn't inclusive” enough?

‘Excluded' by the Rev. Martin Luther King — a new low in campus PC | New York Post

I also find it ridiculous that people also want this country wiped clean of anything, like statues, related to the confederate soldiers- even though they are a huge part of American history. Ugh what has happened to this country? Why can't everyone just be respectful of others opinions and not cry afoul at the slightest deviation from their own views.

However, this anti vax crap is ridiculous- you don't get an opinion if said action/opinion potentially puts others lives at stake.

[MiaEDrn]

I don't care if someone is pro- or anti- vaccine. It is a personal decision.

I fully support the right to decline any medical treatment and oppose any government mandated mass vaccination.

This has nothing to do with my personal philosophy about the Flu vaccine. That is not the issue that needs to be debated. We should be debating our personal freedom as citizens and humans to choose what we accept into our bodies.

What if the government decided that government funding for financial support to people with disabilities was just not something it wants to support? What if mandatory genetic testing for all pregnant women was instated? What if the genetic makeup of your child dictated the amount of medical care the government is willing to pay for?

Yes, these are stretches of the imagination, but stranger things have happened and not that long ago. Tuskegee, Henrietta Lacks, Guatemala experiments in the 1940s, Willowbrook experiments in the 1960s...

[armyicurn]

Let them refuse. I hope it keeps going for a bit so I can apply for that dream job