Should health care workers be forced to take the H1N1 vaccine

I believe that the swine flu and the regular flu are one and the same its all a choice I believe it should be left up to the employee.

Spall- The H1N1 flu vaccine is just a slight variation of the regular flu vaccines available at this time of year. It's as safe as the other vaccines. Now, I've not heard of this particular case, so I will have to do some looking into it but it seems a violation to "force" any of them to take an elective vaccine. I can see them requiring the normal set that one gets as a child, but I am unsure of the flu vaccine. I myself am allergic to the regular vaccine. The last time I took one I got violently ill and ended up having my throat swell requiring a shot. So,I'm not doing that again and even my current doctor agrees-NO VACCINE FOR ME lol. I don't think anyone should be forced to have the flu vaccine. Namaste-Anora

No.

they will be forced to get it here in ontario (canada) or face layoffs of other serious matters. i guess if i was in the hospital, i would feel safer if i knew that my nurse (or whatever) got a vaccine.

No one should ever be forced to put something into their body they don't feel comfortable with.

That is a hugely difficult question to answer. When I consider the fact that I needed to go to the ER almost 2 weeks ago, the thought of one of the 6 people who touched me having the flu and passing it off to me really bothers me. The thought that I could have had the flu and just not known it yet and then given to one of those 6 people to pass along to everyone else they touched that day, also bothers me. I will not get the shot because it has proven ineffective on me each time I have gotten a flu shot. In fact, I have ended up sicker than usual each time I've gotten the shot so, what good did it do me? Maybe it prevented me from getting one version of the flu only to leave me susceptible to another. I do take precautions. I take herbal immune boosters and probiotics which I know have worked because since I have been taking them, I have been healthier than everyone around me, even when my entire office had the same cold several months ago and I was the only one not to get it. So, my point was, I don't want to be a hypocrite and say, no...I won't get the shot but by all means, you absolutely should. But, then again...if you are working with people who specifically come to you to make the healthy again, maybe you should do everything you can to keep yourself as healthy as humanly possible. But, I don't like that it is at the expense of telling people what to do with their own bodies. A really tough question to answer, indeed. There are valid arguments for both positions.

Can an employer make it a requirement? It seems that they can, but one still has a choice, even though that choice may come at the cost of one's job. It is worrisome that health care workers are so concerned about this vaccine. Surely they would eagerly line up to have the shot if they were comfortable with its safety and more concerned about the flu than the vaccine. But everywhere I hear stories of health care professionals who do not want to get the shot. That has to make you wonder... Perhaps all those who don't want the vaccine should refuse it. If it is as large a number as it seems, I don't think their employers - hospitals, clinics, doctors - could afford to fire the lot of them and they certainly couldn't replace all of them.

That's a thorny question! I don't think anyone should be forced to take a vaccine. The people who are at risk for complications due to the virus will have already been vaccinated so they will be in little danger from catching it from medical personnel. So vaccinating workers will make little difference in the patients' safety who are at risk of the disease's complications. I would side with the health care workers on this issue.

spalladino I think you know I am a senior citizen and i saw my doctor this past monday for a health problem and he insisted I get the nihi shot .well I am fine no side effects, not even a sore arm. So if I an 83 year old woman with diabetes can come through without a sign of a side effect, I do think that they should all take this as they could spread the flu really bad if they had not had the shots. no make them takeit as they are dealing with the public. my doctor and staff were all wearing masks just as preventative measures. I think this scare over the vaccine was started by some nut and blown all out of proportion for some reason us Americans get a notion and whether it is true or not they still pass it on until its huge and really all wrong. Ido not believe most of this guff,it needs to be proven to be true and it has not.

Forced to go home if they get sick with something contagious, yes. Forced to be vaccinated against their will, nope. Some public safety issues trump free choice, but I don't believe this is one of them.

I obviously would not like to catch H1N1 and although our government here in Australia is supplying the vaccine to everyone free of charge I am reluctant to have it because I watched my little girl react very badly to an ordinary flu shot I few years ago and, because I am feeling quite well at the moment I am a little worried that taking the vaccine may hinder that. While I can see why health care workers are encouraged to have the shots I don’t believe anyone should be forced to have them.

I guess I would be losing my job if I worked in the healthcare industry. No one is going to tell me to take a flu shot if I don't want it. I'm 52 years old and have never taken the flu shot or the Swine Flu shot and I don't intend to. Its just to risky to me.

As a nurse I was taught to respect a patient's autonomy and with that comes the responsibility to aid the patient, along with the doctor, in making informed choices. This is very applicable on the question whether or not to sack HCW based on their decision to get the vaccine or not. If HCWs choose not to get the vaccine they must fully understand the risk that they pose to their selves and their clients once infected with H1N1 and with that the authority of the hospital administration to fire them. They must have full cognizance that they will not lose their jobs not because of the mere fact that they refuse to get the vaccine but because, in the long run, they put themselves and the patients at risk which will ultimately end up in what should have been a preventable illness and extra spending. Influenza AH1N1 only differs from the seasonal flu in its strain thus the vaccine is made like the common flu vaccine so it is safe.

Well!Everybody should take H1N1 vaccine not only those health workers, doctor or person working in the hospitals.Because its for your owned protection also.Here in Saudi Arabia its not compulsary to be vaccinated but those who want to have medicine available in our hosptitals.For the nurses we do vaccinated because were exposed to patients.For us if the health workers has signed and symptoms of H1N1 automatic they will have make a test for H1N1 and one week sickleave for the workers.

Prevention is better than cure. Its always better if the Health care workers are vaccinated first. After all these individuals are offering help and not just paid workers. Take care

This is an interesting discussion. I'm afraid of the the H1N1 vaccine, myself, and I've decided against taking it. As for nurses, doctors, and other health care professionals taking it, this is a pretty tough question, especially since they have direct contact with the patient. I don't think they should lose their jobs over it. I don't know if it will help or not but I guess more testing should be required. Kathy.