New York State makes flu shots compulsory despite nurses opposition

[kiwibird]

http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/b8de8e630faf3631/id/525827/cs/1/
New York State makes flu shots compulsory despite nurses opposition
Malaysia Sun
Saturday 1st August, 2009
(EndoNurse)

The New York State Nurses Association has strongly opposed a regulation that would require every healthcare worker in the state to be immunized for influenza.

Despite these objections, the New York State Hospital Planning and Review Council has adopted the proposal as an emergency rule that could go into effect before this winter?s flu season. The rule affects all healthcare personnel, both paid and unpaid, who interact with patients in hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, certified home health agencies, long-term healthcare programs, AIDS home care programs, licensed home care services, and hospices.
In its testimony, the association called the council?s action a ?scorched earth? approach. ?While we encourage nurses to be immunized for the flu, we do not agree that nurses should be required to get immunizations as a condition of employment,? said Eileen Avery, RN, associate director of the association?s Education, Practice & Research Program.

?The seasonal flu vaccine is not 100 percent effective and sometimes is highly ineffective, as it was in 2005 and 2007,? Avery said. ?There is no guarantee that in any given year, the public will benefit from mandatory immunization of healthcare providers.?

The association also is concerned that the state and healthcare facilities might rely upon flu shots to prevent the spread of influenza among workers and patients rather than implementing proven infection control procedures such the use of appropriate respirators and isolation rooms.
The regulation?s impact on the state?s shortage of nurses could be significant, the association says.

?There is no exemption for religious or cultural preferences regarding immunization, effectively blocking individuals who have these beliefs from earning their livelihood,? Avery said. ?It?s possible that nurses will leave the profession or choose another career because of this onerous mandate; a serious threat at a time when the shortage of nurses in New York State is expected to reach 20,000 within a decade.?

 

[tropical]

Re: New York State makes flu shots compulsory despite nurses opposition

With all respects to individual decisions, conspiracy vacc. theories, and harming collateral effects, it seems prety logic that after years of downplaying, now when the pandemic is full blown, and the wrong JIT health management displays it's bad side, by low staffing, no containments, esigue multifunctional infection wards, it will be additionaly crippling, in a viral pandemic, keep the main operators handling infected - and non, patients, without be immunized onto, leaving the possibility for the workers to re-transmit the illness to non-infected patients seeking hospital care.

We all have it enaugh of hospital given infections, must we got other also ...

Mercury is present in a food chain also (fish/...), old teeth fils, etc., a little bit more wil not change much (maybe) ...

As many don't works in mines, or other dangerous fields, prior to choose a health job, these persons knows what it could looks like, so as in a mine you must put the helmet on, in an infected environment you must be full gear (things which seems to not be accomplished), aplicate social distancing (no joint messrooms, special decontamination of restrooms, changed gloves when approach diferent patients), and mantain strict bio-safety measures - things that 90% of health personnel are not trained, and would not do strictly,
so the best option seems a vaccine.
The main battle is to got an safe vaccine (from other kinds of dreaded polutants, a non crippling one).

#1:
"The association also is concerned that the state and healthcare facilities might rely upon flu shots to prevent the spread of influenza among workers and patients rather than implementing proven infection control procedures such the use of appropriate respirators and isolation rooms.
The regulation?s impact on the state?s shortage of nurses could be significant, the association says.

?There is no exemption for religious or cultural preferences regarding immunization, effectively blocking individuals who have these beliefs from earning their livelihood,? Avery said. ?It?s possible that nurses will leave the profession or choose another career because of this onerous mandate;"

 

[appleblossom]

Re: New York State makes flu shots compulsory despite nurses opposition

I do understand that health officials believe they are between a rock and a hard place, in that we cannot have health care workers transmitting H1N1 to uninfected hospital patients. However, in what sense can an untested and unproven vaccine be considered "protection". How do they know it will work? Well, they don't. That's why this seems much more like an attempt to prevent lawsuits. In that, whether the vaccine actually prevents real H1N1 transmission in hospitals or not, the administrators have covered their butts and can point to vaccine records for their staff as "proof" that H1N1 virus was not picked up from hospital workers.

A better and more effective plan would be to implement quarantine policies and the strict bio-safety measures that tropical mentioned. if 90% of staff are not trained to do this, then train them. an unproven vaccine is not a reliable protection for anyone.

I live in NY state and have been employed as a home health aide here in the past. I am sad to say that if this is the H1N1 containment plan in my state, I am now grateful to be out of the health industry. I would have had to quit my position anyway if my agency had tried to force an untested vaccine on me this fall.

I sympathize with all health care workers in New York who are faced with this situation now. I think some will do what I would have done, quit, which will be a disaster when we really need all the trained medical help we can get this flu season. But the lack of employment options will probably force many of them to compromise on their personal safety rather than be without income. I hope for their sakes that the vaccines work.

 

[tropical]

Re: New York State makes flu shots compulsory despite nurses opposition

I agree appleblossom, a hard decision.

But we all saw how the estabs, even the WHO, didn't want to suggest and apply, other kinds of working measures, and contributed to an fast spreading everywhere.

On the other side, we have a considerable 10-20% of population every year be vaccinated onto the flu.

If the jabs are toxical, or disorder creators, the vaccines are to be incenerated, not administrated to the health sector, or the population.

The health professionals must have the strenght to demand safe vaccines, or as we said, stringent biosafety, and biocontainment measures.

But after the workshift, the staffs goes home/elsewhere.
If they catch it out, and don't wore all the time the shields when coming/changing/pause/.../ at work, such policy will have infection holes.

If a safe vaccine could be produced (not an forced toxic one, proclamed as good), it will be more secure working vaccinated, but I agree that it will be doubtful in a case of an second wave if it works.

There were 4 years from the bf begining in which the countries, and the WHO, have enaugh time to evaluate the dangers or not, of the adjuvants, but seems that they didn't, or that indeed the adjuvants could produce disorders.

A clear answer is needed (especialy with the addition of other present theories about the use of the vaccines), but seems that all will remain mute, near as it is about the pandemic danger.