Mandatory flu shots????

what ever happened to our own immunity? we have helper cells, If I am not sick, why wear a mask? I am a professional R.N. and If I am sick with the flu I will not come to work to contaminate everyone else. the flu vaccines are changing every year so it is impossible to protect us from the other types of flu out there. we are only protected from 3 types.

Because you can be exposed to the flu and, as a healthy adult, not get sick, but shed virus for several days and put the sick and immunocompromised individuals around you at risk. Even if you do develop the flu, you will be contagious for a few days before you even realize you're sick. That's why.

are we for Profit? or not for Profit? during the flu season all hospitals become For Profit.

What does this even mean?

I agree! Even the CdC says so....

Also, I find it interesting that the CDC even says that a persons immune system weakens over time possibly due to vaccine...

"Also, multiple studies conducted over different seasons and across vaccine types and influenza virus subtypes have shown that the body’s immunity to influenza viruses (acquired either through natural infection or vaccination) declines over time."

No, that statement nor does the CDC suggests that a person's immunity may weaken over time d/t vaccines. The body's immune system does not adapt as readily as we get older. The influenza vaccine may not confer full immunity, but it can offer a partial defense thus lessening the detrimental effects of influenza. This is consistent with everything we are taught about geriatrics and aging in general.

Unless someone plans to hold their breath for the entire shift no mask or other health measures will ever be as effective as getting the influenza vaccine. Talking alone has been shown to shed the virus up to 6 feet. Masks are only effective for a short while they must be changed frequently, and when they become at all wet. Hand washing is minimally effective when a disease is mainly spread through droplets. The same goes for a "healthy lifestyle/diet" unless someones lifestyle/diet is way off the norm there isn't any research that I know of that shows it confers better protection than vaccines or even similar protection to the influenza vaccine.

While I am pro-vaccine and get flu shots, I recognize that flu shots are not protective against all strains of flu. Also, nothing prevents all sickness, even good hand hygiene, eating well, sleeping enough (lol) etc. However, I cannot force a patient to take a vaccination of they don't want to and I don't feel anyone or any business should be able to force a person or employee to take a vaccination if they don't want to, it's a violation of their personal right to choose their own health maintenance decisions themselves.

I do not view employment required immunizations as any different than any of the many other requirements we have as nurses. No one is holding someone down and forcing them to take the flu vaccine, if you don't want to be immunized then these people can go find a job outside of healthcare where they will not endanger patients.

A persons individual rights end when they endanger everyone else's public health, and this is exactly what happens when people (especially healthcare workers) refuse to be immunized. Non-immunized healthcare workers have much more opportunity to become unsuspecting disease vectors from vaccine preventable diseases.

We, as nurses, are supposed to protect our patients whether this accomplished from simple things such as hand washing or being immunized against influenza.

The medications, anti-bacterial soap(s), disinfectants, and chemicals that we use and/or are exposed daily as part of our job as nurses carry the potential of more serious side-effects than the influenza vaccine.

My reasoning is solely due to the fact that after reading up on it, I am not convinced that it will do my body any good to take it. I not convinced that it actually prevents the flu, nor does it prevent me from spreading it to, or 'endangering' my patients.

There have been studies out there, but tell me, how does one predict, exactly, how effective it is? Let's look at this scenario. I think it is totally my right to make an informed decision on what I put in my body. My immune system does not need a flu shot putting it into hyperactive mode every year, so that over time it actually works less and less effectively.

I get that employers have a right to put policies in place for employees, but in regards to a flu shot, something that is not proven to be something that is even effective in doing what they say it does, I think is ridiculous. Vitamin D boosts a persons immune system, making them healthier, making them less likely to spread illnesses to their patients, but for some people maybe they are not convinced on this either, therefore don't take it daily. And that's ok! What would happen if they forced everyone to take Vit D, each day, or be fired from their job?

Or, what would happen of they made everyone be swabbed on a weekly basis for MRSA, or VRE, or be tested for AIDS, or quit smoking? Or be a certain weight, because when they are obese, they are less healthy, thus making it more likely to be sick spreading illness to their patients (or 'endangering' their patients). ....yes....touchy right? But like a flu shot, these are ALL personal health choices!! I really don't think a job should be dependant on personal health choices!!

I edited the quotes down to make my responses easier to follow.

1. You are not convinced by the multitude of research that the the flu vaccine doesn't work. You provide a point of view that has absolutely no verifiable proof to go with it, so I am not even sure where to start other than to list again some of the peer-reviewed scientific research showing the effectiveness of the flu vaccine. CDC - Flu Vaccine Effectiveness: Questions and Answers for Health Professionals | Health Professionals | Seasonal Influenza (Flu) The commentary is at the top and references per usual are at the bottom.

2. We are exposed to multiple bacteria and viruses everyday of our lives. A vaccine does not cause our immune systems to go into hyperactive mode. This is a common myth among vaccines.

"Can so many vaccines, given so early in life, overwhelm a child's immune system, suppressing it so it does not function correctly?

No evidence suggests that the recommended childhood vaccines can “overload” the immune system. In contrast, from the moment babies are born, they are exposed to numerous bacteria and viruses on a daily basis. Eating food introduces new bacteria into the body; numerous bacteria live in the mouth and nose; and an infant places his or her hands or other objects in his or her mouth hundreds of times every hour, exposing the immune system to still more antigens. When a child has a cold they are exposed to at least 4 to 10 antigens and exposure to “strep throat” is about 25 to 50 antigens." CDC - Multiple Vaccines - Vaccine Safety

3. Again the flu vaccine is proven to reduce the incidence and severity of influenza if you have other peer-reviewed scientific literature to offer a different point of view you should post it and not make unsubstantiated claims otherwise. Vitamin D supplementation for normal healthy adults probably has no additional health benefits.

"No significant effect was found for 1,25(OH)2D supplementation as an adjuvant to increase the efficacy of an influenza vaccine in the general adult population (90) or in HIV-positive (91) adults, and supplementation with oral cholecalciferol did not significantly reduce the risk of infection in an elderly population (92). General vitamin D supplementation (median daily dose of 2000 iu/d, or 50 μg/d) was not associated with improved serologic response to an influenza vaccine (measured by a ≥1:40 hemagglutinin antibody inhibition titer ratio or 4-fold increase in hemagglutinin antibody inhibition titer at 3-mo postvaccination) in prostate cancer patients ." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649720/

http://www.health.harvard.edu/flu-resource-center/how-to-boost-your-immune-system.htm

There is big difference between taking a vitamin that will only effect a persons individual health and a receiving a vaccine that has been shown to not only protect oneself but also the population in general. There is no comparison between the two even the tenuous one that you are trying to make.

4. You are trying to compare things that can be controlled with hand washing, aseptic/sterile technique, and personal health problems with the flu which cannot be controlled by any one of these or by personal improved health habits.