22,000 Nurses Refuse Mandatory Vaccinations

Nurse.T_lovesNursing · Jan 30, 2016

The flu shot is an inactive injection- it is not possible to get the flu from the flu shot and there is a ton of very credible research to back that up. It's misinformation like this, that causes hysteria and noncompliance to vaccinations.
Just bc you were ill does not mean it's related to the flu shot- you work with sick people which is 100% more likely to make you ill than the flu shot.
Can you site credible resources that say you can get the flu from the inactive injection?

Yet I came down with flu-like symptoms after receiving the inj... Never had the flu before that or after that. I am not "giving out misinformation" I am simply stating my one time experience with the inj. Here I am 30 years later still working in the ED "with sick people" without a flu shot and 30 years free of the flu. :snurse:

So far three nurses that work in the hosp received their flu inj this season have come down with the flu. So, the inj is not 100% effective and yes, I know you know that.

Oh...And I do not go around telling pt's my experience so there is no worries there that I "causes hysteria and noncompliance to vaccinations" :up:

ED Nurse, RN · Jan 30, 2016

Yet I came down with flu-like symptoms after receiving the inj... Never had the flu before that or after that. I am not "giving out misinformation" I am simply stating my one time experience with the inj. Here I am 30 years later still working in the ED "with sick people" without a flu shot and 30 years free of the flu.
So far three nurses that work in the hosp received their flu inj this season have come down with the flu. So, the inj is not 100% effective and yes, I know you know that.
Oh...And I do not go around telling pt's my experience so there is no worries there that I "causes hysteria and noncompliance to vaccinations"

Obviously, you failed to read my link. I also asked for credible sources to back up that claim- the flu vaccine does not take effect post injection for up to two weeks so your claim is irrelevant, you already had the virus inside you prior to injection. You can't seriously think people should believe your claim vs the founded research of Harvard medical researchers? I have further difficulties in believing that an educated nurse actually believes such an unfounded thing. Getting the flu, after the injection has become effective in your system, is always plausible bc the flu does not protect against all strains- even so, I believe it is still negligent to gamble with a pts life bc you don't want to get vaccinated bc you aren't sure if it will work. I equate that to not wearing a seatbelt when in a vehicle- you don't know if that seatbelt will save your life, yet research shows you have a greater chance of survival if worn.

I think I will stick to what Harvard research, and countless other credible sources, have cited. A nurses unfounded, not credible statement that he/she had flu sxs after receiving the injection, and that is the reason they don't get the injection, is in no way relatable to actual scientific evidence. I also loose confidence in a nurses ability who cares to argue a point that has been meticulously disproven. We have a duty to our pts to protect them and properly educate them- if a nurse is refusing to believe research by proven methods, how well can that nurse educate a pt properly?

ED Nurse, RN · Jan 30, 2016

So far three nurses that work in the hosp received their flu inj this season have come down with the flu. So, the inj is not 100% effective and yes, I know you know that.

3 nurses out of the hundred, or possibly thousands of nurses depending on the hospital size, is a negligible amount and within the range of acceptable deviation within the scientific process in regards to results.

twozer0, NP · Jan 30, 2016

Yeah money-Best practice. The vaccination "herd mentality" (one can carry and spread the flu yet be asymptomatic) is designed to keep the public healthier, keeping people out of the hospital and subsequently saving money.

Two things I wanted to address here:

1. Herd immunity works for permanent vaccines, like MMR, TDaP. It does not work with the flu vaccine because we are only vaccinating against 4 common types of virus per year (there are a lot of other strains that arent covered). The rapid rate of mutation in these virus' makes herd immunity worthless. Unless you're darting nearly every individual in the population it makes no sense and even then, its only effective against the ones in the vaccine itself (which has been proven to be ineffective several times over).

2. Why did employers start requiring the flu vaccine in the first place? It has been around for many years but as of these past few years it has become a requirement. Why has it become a requirement? Don't tell me its for the benefit of my patients because again, unless they are getting the shot, it doesnt matter. I can still give them the flu virus even if I have been vaccinated as it doesnt stop transmission.

I'm all for vaccines, they do wonderful things when they are 100% effective. Until you can provide me with data that the flu vaccine is 100% (which it never will be) than I dont want it. I'm not saying to not give it to compromised patients, im saying me myself as a health adult, no need (with virtually no benefits to my patient either).

Nurse.T_lovesNursing · Jan 30, 2016

Good Lord girl/guy....Take it easy there. No reason to get upset and ugly about my opinion. If I knew it was going to cause you so much stress I would not have posted. It is simple MY experience and MY choice not to get vaccinated. It happened to me so it IS relevant to ME.

"You can't seriously think people should believe your claim" What are you going on about? Agian, I simple stated my experience. I am not shouting from the roof tops...do not get a flu shot nor do I have sticky notes posted on my head telling pt's I did not get the flu inj so you shouldn't either.

Calm down, chill out....all will be well... I do not have to read the links you so nicely provided for me to know what research states. We all have our own opinions. I do not push mine down others throat.

"I believe it is still negligent to gamble with a pts life bc you don't want to get vaccinated bc you aren't sure if it will work" Oh, did I forget to mention I haven't had the flu since???

Just in case you do not realize it....IMO, you come across nasty, rude and judgmental. So thanks for a nice 2nd or 3rd post experience for me on this forum.

elkpark · Jan 30, 2016

Received the flu shot one time in 86 and became extremelysick with flu-like symptoms. Since then Ihave refused the inj and never came downwith the flu. To me, that speaks volumes, and I work on the medicalfloors and the ER.

I had tunafish for lunch earlier this week and, then, when I got home after work, I tripped and fell down my back porch steps. I won't be eating tunafish from now on because it causes falls.

elkpark · Jan 30, 2016

10 Flu Myths - Harvard Health
I believe Harvard is credible enough, right?

No, no -- they're part of the conspiracy ...

Nurse.T_lovesNursing · Jan 30, 2016

I had tunafish for lunch earlier this week and, then, when I got home after work, I tripped and fell down my back porch steps. I won't be eating tunafish from now on because it causes falls.

Wow...that was very rude. I've heard about nurses being nasty towards others but never experienced it until I came to this forum.

ED Nurse, RN · Jan 30, 2016

Good Lord girl/guy....Take it easy there. No reason to get upset and ugly about my opinion. If I knew it was going to cause you so much stress I would not have posted. It is simple MY experience and MY choice not to get vaccinated. It happened to me so it IS relevant to ME.
"You can't seriously think people should believe your claim" What are you going on about? Agian, I simple stated my experience. I am not shouting from the roof tops...do not get a flu shot nor do I have sticky notes posted on my head telling pt's I did not get the flu inj so you shouldn't either.
Calm down, chill out....all will be well... I do not have to read the links you so nicely provided for me to know what research states. We all have our own opinions. I do not push mine down others throat.
"I believe it is still negligent to gamble with a pts life bc you don't want to get vaccinated bc you aren't sure if it will work" Oh, did I forget to mention I haven't had the flu since???
Just in case you do not realize it....IMO, you come across nasty, rude and judgmental. So thanks for a nice 2nd or 3rd post experience for me on this forum.

I believe you are possibly the one who should calm down and not take things so personal- what I said was in no way rude, it is fact and opinion, which I am entitled, per TOS, to state. How educated and well founded responses are considered "nasty" seems to elude me. I'm not sure where you came to the conclusion of me being "nasty" during this discussion. If you take everything that is said here so personally, then the Internet may not be for you.

Me, stressed? And you arrived at this conclusion how? My responses are well thought out and in a very readable format, which is the basis of every good debate. I also did not use any language to indicate stress or hysteria where I warrant "calming down." I'm an ED nurse, I don't get stressed out.

ED Nurse, RN · Jan 30, 2016

Wow...that was very rude. I've heard about nurses being nasty towards others but never experienced it until I came to this forum.

I think you need to reevaluate what nasty and rude actually entail. People are not nasty or rude simply bc they disagree with you. Perhaps this forum is not for you if you cannot participate without calling others nasty and rude when they produce credible findings. A debate can be respectful, which we were doing here, until you took it as a personal attack. If you'd like to continue this discussion then perhaps you can produce some credible sources of research to help support your discussion.

%D#2 · Jan 30, 2016

I can't get the flu shot for medical reasons but if I feel sick or know that I have been around anyone who has been sick I swear a face mask to work and if it's that bad I don't go in. Gotta protect our patients, and ourselves.

macawake, MSN · Jan 30, 2016

Wow...that was very rude. I've heard about nurses being nasty towards others but never experienced it until I came to this forum.

I think that elkpark was trying to demonstrate how illogical your reasoning is when you link the influenza vaccine to your subsequent bout of flu. The connection that you seem to make between these two is as illogical as the tuna & fall connection.

I find it frustrating when a trained medical professional doesn't understand this. You simply can not get influenza from the vaccine.

22,000 Nurses Refuse *Mandatory* Vaccinations

22,000 Nurses Refuse Mandatory Vaccinations