Hospital Requiring Employees to take H1N1 Vaccine

Kittyfeet · Sep 23, 2009

I have an interesting visual of the numbers of hospital staff walking the halls wearing N-95 masks, and the expense it's going to generate.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidelines_infection_control.htm

I am pretty sure my hospital said it didn't have to be an N-95, it could be a regular mask. But maybe that's just my hospital.

That being said... I feel like I'm the only person planning on getting it... am I being totally naive? I just don't want to bring H1N1 home to my family. I have never had any sort of adverse reaction to a vaccine. I guess I just need to read up on it a little more.

JJGRN · Sep 23, 2009

That being said... I feel like I'm the only person planning on getting it... am I being totally naive? I just don't want to bring H1N1 home to my family. I have never had any sort of adverse reaction to a vaccine. I guess I just need to read up on it a little more.

I don't think you're being naive... I just think for those of us who are planning on getting it is really a non-issue, and those who are affected by this are those who would choose not to take it, but now are being required by their employer.

Several of the staff I work with are not happy with this mandate, but as a condition of employment, are choosing to comply to keep their jobs.

FATKAT · Sep 23, 2009

I am undecided on the getting the vaccine. I have seen/had a few patients who have had H1N1 and let me tell you, they are perfectly normal people prior to getting it, and eventually went to ICU and are unbelievable sick now... renal failure and the works! Kind of makes me want the vaccine, I don't want to get sick like that. But what good is wearing the mask all day? It's only good for 15 minutes anyway, I can see that expense escalating tremendously for no reason (asymptomatic people wearing them). :twocents:

HazeKomp, BSN, RN · Sep 23, 2009

Just wanted to get some thoughts on a hospital requiring all employees who have contact with patients to take the H1N1 Vaccine. Thoughts about this being REQUIRED.

from a management perspective: protect your staff and patients by requiring the vaccine will decrease risk of staff being out of commission from the flu, decrease sick days, decrease workman's comp issues from staff getting the disease from patients admitted with the diagnosis, decrease patient exposure from staff who should be at home but come to work sick (we've all done that, haven't we?), etc, etc. bottom line: cheaper to vaccinate ALL staff than the consequences of having unvaccinated staff employed.

from an individual's perspective: I am still a bit of an independant person who does NOT like being told I MUST do something! (ex. My house is in a development that does NOT have a homeowners association!) However, that being said, I will be first in line for the vaccine. I am the breadwinner for the family and must do all I can to avoid being out sick.

So, it will boil down to #1 keep your job and get the vaccine

#2 keep your job and don't get the vaccine but wear a mask (not realistic)

#3 get a different job.

I am very annoyed that your hospital would be so controlling! Not nice, not playing fair.

holisticallyminded · Sep 23, 2009

To the nursing school student: the schools always tell you that you need to get vaccinated for flu, etc. However, it is your legal right to request a waiver. It is absolutely ridiculous to mandate ANY vaccine, regardless of what it is for. A nurse's first duty is to protect self. The age old notion that if one does not care for oneself, he/she cannot care for others holds true. I do agree that it is an employee's responsibility not to come to work when sick. I think the hospitals are actually to blame for making us feel guilty for calling in. They say they don't want you coming to work but in reality, they don't want absenteeism and co-workers often hold it against you for calling in as well. This applies to all work places; it's hardly just a healthcare worker issue. When we're sick, we should probably also stay home longer than we usually do, instead of the requisite 1-2 days out. Who's going to go in to get a doctor's note for a cold? But the reality is that the cold may last well over 3 days. Not to mention that these visits to the physician are totally unecessary and factor in to increased care costs. Don't even get me started on parents who take their kids in for every sniffle.

Vaccination in itself should always be questioned. None of this blind following of recommendations. Autoimmune disease is on the rise. This is much bigger than autism, folks. Please, please do your research. Fear tactics have really gone too far. I'm so tired of the notion that only the uneducated choose not to vaccinate or become vaccinated. The reality is far on the other side. I think a fundamental understanding of how immunity is actually obtained at the cellular level is important for health professionals to understand. Especially when they themselves are at the forefront of making vaccination recommendations at the patient level. This is certainly an "at your own risk" issue. If you feel strongly about protecting a vulnerable population, so be it. No mandates.

cbreuklander · Sep 23, 2009

Where I work, they haven't yet mandated the vaccines, but there is a lot of very strong pressure toward it. I do not like the idea of making them mandatory for all of us. The incidence of H1N1 and true influenza inside of this hospital is still at 0 patients here. There have been a total of 5 confirmed cases in the county this year, all of them very mild. So, why not let the vaccines be more available and cheaper in areas where they are more needed? It looks to me like once again, the drug companies are going to make a lot of profit with scare tactics (with the help of the media)!

Wishinonastar, BSN · Sep 23, 2009

I strongly dislike mandates, but this also goes for our children. Why is it ok to force people to have their children vaccinated but not ok to force people to take the flu vaccine? More and more of our freedoms are being taken away. Our latest death locally from H1N1 was age 27. He will never be a grandfather, never collect retirement, never have grey hair. All from a flu virus.

Health care workers are notorious for coming to work sick. I can see the hospital's point of view and risk. I think the mask is probably to protect both the patients and the worker, and it is actually a reasonable alternative, though I would go with a surgical mask rather than an N95. Forcing employees to get a new vaccine is also risking some liability in the event of an adverse reaction.

shlay51 · Sep 24, 2009

I'm in my last semester of school and will graduate in Dec. The school I go to has never required us to get the flu vaccine, however, it has been highly encouraged. I myself have never gotten it nor will I. I haven't heard anything about the school requiring or even encouraging the H1N1 vaccine for students. The only thing that has gone out to students in how to help prevent the spread...handwashing, etc. I don't believe it is right for an employer to require their employees to get this vaccination. We should all have the right to choose. There hasn't been enough research done for me to feel comfortable saying yes I would like to be your test dummy and pray that I don't have some horrible side effect. If I had children I would not be making them get it either. Flu kills many each year, that's just how it is and like it's been said multiple times so far, the current flu vaccine is a hit or miss. In the 70's the vaccine killed more people than the actual flu did, and if it didn't kill them it left them with other medical issues that can be linked back to the vaccine. So excuse me if I'm not the first to jump in line for this.

zebsmom2002 · Sep 24, 2009

I'm unable to recieve any of the vaccines...egg allergy. I will be 1)not allowed to work, uncompensated, for the duration of the flu season or 2) will need to wear a mask at all times at work for the next several months. great choices (sic).

zebsmom2002 · Sep 24, 2009

addendum: No, they don't technically "require" the vaccine, but for those of us who don't get it, there certainly seems to be a degree of retaliation present.

I understand the desire to restrain the spread of the flu, but not even the CDC is recommending this particular course of action.

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Sep 24, 2009

It does seem to be a very hard line stance to take this early before we have seen that there is a big issue even......

If enough protest they will have to give in or not have staff..............

I am willing to take the new swine flu injection, but not the mist with partial live virus. I have been swiging back and forth with my opinion on this, but I do not really think these particular vaccine's will be high risk and I would prefer not to get sick. If I got sick and gave it to my 50 year old husband and he progressed to pneumonia and died I would never forgive myself..........

There are a lot of risks you have to balance in life and I feel for myself it would be reasonable to get the vaccine. However, not the mist as it has weak live vaccine and those old flu shots that were like that long ago always had symptoms.

All that said. I work at a university in research and not in patient care. I am 46 and healthy. It will be quite some time before I will qualify for the vaccine as i will not be considered a health care worker. By then I will probably have a) had the swine flu and/or b) we will have seen the result of the vaccine in many people by then.

JJGRN · Sep 24, 2009

addendum: No, they don't technically "require" the vaccine, but for those of us who don't get it, there certainly seems to be a degree of retaliation present.
I understand the desire to restrain the spread of the flu, but not even the CDC is recommending this particular course of action.

The CDC is recommending that all healthcare providers get the vaccine. Here's a link: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/acip/persons.htm.