This'll be interesting to watch.
NY State Health Commissioner mandates that all health care workers get vaccinated against swine/seasonal flu, but enforcement is temporarily paused under a restraining order while three nurses sue.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/judge-halts-mandatory-flu-vaccines-for-health-care-workers/?hp
Personal liberty is at stake, but so is patient safety. I wasn't aware of this, but apparently vaccination policies for health workers so far have been voluntary; this mandate threatens fines, and even termination. You can see the ferocity of people's opinions in the comments section. What's your take?
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I'm glad you brought this up Marco - this case and lawsuit will be interesting to follow in the coming weeks. In fact, I'm surprised that NY state is the only one to make vaccinations mandatory. I understand the controversy, but like the article says, hospitals are places for the sick to get well. Considering the fact that people who are most susceptible to devastating cases of influenza are already in the hospital, it makes sense to create some protection. It's true that there are some rare potential risks to the flu vaccines (such as the small, possibly unrelated chance of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in the 1970s H1N1 vaccination program) but the benefits of vaccination in this setting seem to outweigh the risks by leaps and bounds. Voluntary vaccinations could work in theory, but the article explains that even under the most ambitious programs, a shockingly low 40-50% of healthcare workers get vaccinated.
I support mandatory vaccinations, if not only for patients' safety, then the safety of those with close patient contact and everyone they subsequently interact with. It seems like making these mandatory would be one of the best ways to halt the spread of the virus, not only in hospitals, but in the more global context as well.
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