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A little over a month ago (see NY: Considering Mandating Flu Vaccinations For HCWs) it was revealed that New York State was considering mandating yearly flu shots (and the pandemic vaccine) for all HCWs (Health Care Workers) starting this fall.
Mandatory flu vaccination is, as you might imagine, a contentious issue despite strong support coming from APIC, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology along with many infectious disease doctors.
Unions have fought against this as a violation of individual rights, but many health care facilities see this as imperative to protect patients, co-workers, and no doubt themselves from potential liability.
A hat tip to Cathy M on Flu Wiki for this link.
State Requires Flu Vaccination for Caregivers
Published: August 18, 2009
The State Health Department is requiring tens of thousands of health care workers across the state to be vaccinated for flu, amid fears that swine flu will return in the fall.
The new regulation, quietly adopted as an emergency on Thursday, affects workers at hospitals, in home health care agencies and in hospice care, but, because of a technicality in state law, not in nursing homes.
The regulation raised protest Tuesday from New York’s largest health care union, 1199 S.E.I.U. United Healthcare Workers East, whose president, George Gresham, said that the policy was “completely unprecedented” and could become punitive if the religious or cultural beliefs of workers prevented them from being vaccinated.
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