How do you feel about mandatory influenza vaccines?

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I am totally against the influenza vaccine. I know many of my close relatives and friends, as well as other nurses, who have received the vaccine and it did more harm than good to every one of them. Five of these people in particular were hospitalized after and a few of them were sick for months. I have never received the vaccine and I personally think it is wrong for an employer to force you to get it. I have done some research on it and some hospitals are going as far as terminating people who refuse the vaccine. I am a new graduate (December 2012) still unemployed and actively looking for RN jobs and many of them state that they require the influenza vaccine for all employees. I was wondering if your particular hospital has a waiver or any exemptions to the mandatory vaccine?

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I just accepted a new position with a major medical system's physician office and they require mandatory FLU vaccines. I was told that if I did not accept the vaccine that it would be noted that I "resigned" from my position. I do not usually get the shot due to experience side effects from it, it also seems to make my asthma flare up. Strange.....

They told me the only way you could be exempt was if you had religious convictions or an allergy...I dont know how you would prove the religious conviction part. For me it was, you dont get this....you are NOT hired. :(

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Specializes in Emergency/ICU.

I don't like being forced to do it, but we have to get it at my hospital or wear a mask all the time at work from Oct to April-ish. Eventually I think people could be fired if they don't have an extremely good medical or religious reason. It's just the way it is.

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I don't like being forced to do it, but we have to get it at my hospital or wear a mask all the time at work from Oct to April-ish. Eventually I think people could be fired if they don't have an extremely good medical or religious reason. It's just the way it is.

true......like they told me, dont take it and you are immediately written up as have "resigned".

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I dislike anything "mandatory".

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.

I usually choose to get it, but it really riles me up to be told that I have to. For the last 3 years, I've gotten the flu shot and then had an actual diagnosed case of the flu. But at least my employer can't kick up about the time off if I can show that I did my part.

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Thanks y'all!!

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New this year at my hospital system, we must get it or we are terminated.

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I'm against having mandatory flu shots because I don't like being injected with only-god-knows-what and not even knowing if the shot will be effective for that season. On the other hand, I understand it from a preventative perspective to protect the public and the nurse from a viral outbreak. Still, I'd prefer not to take the jab and believe we should have a choice without threats of termination.

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Specializes in Anesthesia, ICU, PCU.

Interesting. I wonder how a registered nurse who is opposed to the influenza vaccine herself will be able to advocate for the greater good of her patients (and of public health in general) by encouraging the flu shot... Do you still educate the patients according to the CDC literature? Which by the way is based on case studies on every reported adverse reaction by the flu shot, not just a few of their friends who got sick afterwards.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

thread moved for best response.

I just had a freind who has had them her whole career have a horrible systemic reaction...I won't go into details becasue I can't.....has had to take a ton of time off work...got written up with a final warning for absenteeism.....has used all her sick time and they refuse to admit that it is workman's comp.

If you mandate a vaccine and threaten termination if you don't....it should be workman's comp when you become ill from it.....and yet she is threatened with termination again. Self serving "bad word".

I don't trust the government. I think they lie. I think they mandate it as a political favor for campaign contributions from the drug companies. My daughter wants to be a nurse and I am terrified for that will be the first flu vaccine she will ever have to have. If something happens to her......someone will pay. I have even considered to not allow her to be a nurse because of this....I feel that strongly..... but it's nurse she wants to be.

I think it's wrong to force anyone to do anything.......but in the economic climate administrators have nurses cornered.

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I volunteer at a hospital and last month the director e-mailed everyone and told them they HAD to have a mandatory flu shot by a certain time. If not, they would have to wear a mask during their shift. I don't recall ever getting a flu shot before this, never had the flu before either, but I got it. Luckily I've had no side effects.

SN: I don't think it's fair to make any type of vaccine mandatory for anyone, but since they're mandating it the least they could do is pay for it as well. lol -- I don't know how they do it at other facilities but all volunteers (and some nurses) at my local hospital had to come out of pocket for it, which is not fair to me. Just my 2 cents.

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