Comments reveal a sharp divide
March 1, 2012 5 minutes read
Comments reveal a sharp divide
'I believe strongly that what you are doing is criminal.'
The medical community appears to be deeply divided over a federal recommendation that would push the health system toward mandatory flu shot policies for health care workers.
A summary of the comments submitted to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) reveals the following breakdowns:
Public comment was submitted by 145 individuals including a number of health care personnel across the health care sector. The comments are almost exclusively in response to the mandate option in recommendation 4. While the comments represent opinions and personal accounts, NVAC reports that most of them can be categorized into the following themes:
Individuals that oppose Recommendation 4:
- Personal Autonomy (94 responses)
- Concern over adverse events (specific to the influenza vaccine) (45)
- Concern over vaccine effectiveness (specific to the influenza vaccine) (43)
- Concern over vaccine safety (specific to the influenza vaccine) (26)
- Concern over exemption policies that did not include religious, philosophical, and personal exemptions (26)
- Concerns that there is an insufficient scientific basis for mandatory vaccine policies (23)
- Concerns over vaccine safety (general) (20)
- Concerns over adverse events (vaccinations in general) (19)
- Liability for adverse events under mandatory policies (8)
Individuals that support Recommendation 4:
- Support for draft recommendations (general) (10)
- Support for draft recommendation 4 (as a patient safety measure) (5)
More evenly divided were public comments submitted on behalf of 37 organizations/ associations in response to the recommendations, with most of them specifically commenting on the mandatory provision. Overall, 15 groups directly stated support for Recommendation 4, including 13 professional associations and 2 non-profit organizations. In contrast, 16 organizations/associations directly opposed Recommendation 4, including 12 labor organizations, 2 non-profits, 1 professional association, and 1 federal agency (OSHA).
No mandate = 'a lot of pizza parties'
Individual comments posted by NVAC (http://1.usa.gov/uD3hDz) included remarks from nurses and physicians:
RN: "I am a certified registered nurse anesthetist, and I'd like to have a voice on flu vaccines. I will not have a flu vaccine. The only time I've ever had the flu was a few days after receiving a flu vaccine. I am also against vaccines altogether and believe that I have the right to refuse to have any more."
MD: I am strongly supportive of these recommendations. Resistance to influenza immunization among health care workers remains a stubborn problem with serious consequences for patients/communities in our care. I would even suggest strengthening recommendation 4 to require a mandatory influenza immunization in situations where health care employee uptake is unacceptably poor.
RN: I work in a County Hospital Intensive Care Unit. I implore you to carefully reconsider any recommendation which encourages employers to require the flu shot as a condition of employment with only medical exemptions. The flu vaccine itself is problematic due to shifting strains, changing virulence of the virus and the challenge of predicting the next year's predominant strains. The efficacy of influenza vaccine can vary from ineffective on non-matched years to as high as perhaps 80 or 90% on well matched years. The major studies that are cited by employers indicating that vaccinating health care workers reduces illness and death in elderly patients have been reviewed by the Cochrane Collaboration. The Cochrane Collaboration reanalyzed the data presented and found the results to be quite different than the conclusions the authors themselves drew. This fact in itself leads one to believe that further, unbiased research must be conducted before any mandate can be made."
RN: I am a nurse and my organization went to a mandatory vaccination policy and I was terminated this week for refusing to comply with the policy. I walked away from a nearly 6 figure job because I feel so strongly about my choice in my own health. I do not believe people should be mandated to be injected with substances that have toxins such as mercury and others in it. Most vaccination efforts fail to provide informed consent as well — there are serious and sometimes life threatening side effects to vaccines. There are more natural ways to prevent illness/flu that are healthier and have less risk than shots. I would likely leave healthcare all together before subjecting myself to unwanted & mandated injections. As healthcare workers, we are patients as well, and we should be able to retain the right to refuse certain treatments/care just like our patients can — especially when it is done conscientiously, while implementing other wellness activities such as vitamin supplementation that strengthens immunity."
MD:The goal for Healthcare Organizations should be 100% vaccination with only exemptions for those with a well document allergy to the vaccine. To get to that % (and even to get to 90%) we need legislation that requires healthcare workers to either get vaccinated or wear a mask at all times, during influenza season. Most organizations are getting their rates into the 75% range. Moving that to 90% without it being mandatory will take large amounts of resources (and a lot of pizza parties) to achieve. These resources will be diverted from other Infection Prevention and Control activities, activities that are just as, if not more important. We already see results from organizations that have made vaccination or mask wearing mandatory — rates of vaccination in the high 90% range. For those of us with union workers the ability to mandate this is difficult. Specifically nursing unions are strongly opposed to mandating vaccination or mask wearing (hard for me to reconcile that stance and the statement that these unions make that they are all about Patient Safety). Without legislation to mandate vaccination or mask, we will either spend many more resources than we should on this or not get to 90%.
RN: "I am a registered nurse in Indiana and I am very upset about the current vaccine mandates by my hospital. I have never received an influenza vaccine and I never plan to. I believe that it is a serious violation of my civil rights to be "forced" to do so in order to keep my job. Many of our physicians, especially the neurologists, are well aware of how dangerous the influenza vaccination is. They have cared for people with serious neurological side effects from the shot. It is not a very effective vaccine (around 60% efficacy) Health care workers should never be asked to place themselves at risk of serious life-altering side effects. And they should never be forced to choose between their livelihood and their convictions. I believe strongly that what you are doing is criminal."
The medical community appears to be deeply divided over a federal recommendation that would push the health system toward mandatory flu shot policies for health care workers.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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