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NY SHRPC: 'Get Flu Shot' OR 'Get Fired'
The State Hospital Review and Planning Council earlier this month adopted a new emergency regulation that requires New York State hospital workers to get the flu shot or get fired, and that it be a requirement for employment.
Hospitals are quickly trying to assemble new workplace policies to comply with the regulation, and those that have been put in place threaten disciplinary action and even termination if workers, from janitors and food service workers to doctors and nurses, refuse to get the shots. The policy affects about 25,000 people in the region.
Albany Medical Center, the region's leading hospital, sent out announcements to workers earlier this week saying employees had to get flu shots by Oct. 16. Spokesman Gregory McGarry said the hospital may take "corrective action" against employees if they don't comply, although he declined to get into specifics about what type of penalties they would face.
The hospital, which will pay for the vaccine, is insisting that almost all of its 7,000 employees get the shots, even those who work at off-site buildings such as the finance center in Delmar. McGarry said that even those workers spend time at the main hospital buildings for meetings.
"It's anyone who has contact with patients or providers," McGarry said. "There may be rare exceptions."
St. Peter's Hospital in Albany is also developing a set of strict guidelines as it seeks to get all of its 4,500 employees shots by Dec. 1.
"There are very few exceptions," said spokesman Elmer Streeter. "We will be requiring it of all our employees as a condition of employment."
Workers will be suspended for five days initially if they do not get the shot. After that, they have another five days to comply before facing possible termination.
The only exemptions are for personnel who have a medical contraindication and for workers, such as those offsite, who would have no contact with patients and only incidental contact with direct-care staff. The language for the exemptions is available in the regulation.
The Department of Health (DOH) officials have said the regulation could apply to provision of the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine series, in addition to seasonal flu shots, should the H1N1 vaccine become available in sufficient supplies to cover all health care workers. Health care workers, along with school-age children, pregnant women, and immuno-compromised adults, are among the highest priorities for receiving novel H1N1 flu shots when they become available in September or October.
DOH is moving forward with the regulation over objections of the New York State Nurses Association, which spoke against the mandate at the SHRPC committee hearing, urging instead increased education to improve voluntary vaccination rates.
In 2006 the Washington State Nurses Association successfully beat back an attempt by Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle that required all nurse to be vaccinated for seasonal influenza.
The situation in New York, however, is different in that it is state initiated.
For influenza pandemic plans and an influenza vaccination declination form, go to the OSHA Healthcare Advisor Tools page.
For the latest data on flu activity in the United States, or to learn about flu basics, or what to do if you get sick, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Suggested additional reading: Mandatory Vaccinations: Precedent and Current Laws
Crowd Power
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Rhonda J Mangus
North Tonawanda, New York, United States
Recommendations (56)
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Amy Judd
Vancouver, Canada -
patgarcia
La Paz, Mexico -
Spydermonkey
huntsville, Alabama, United States -
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Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States -
albertacowpoke
Canada
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Rory Cripps
New Port Richey, Florida, United States -
micomariscal
Albany, New York, United States -
a211423
Clearlake, California, United States -
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Colombo, Western, Sri Lanka -
smkovalinsky
New York, New York, United States



Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (27)
at 08:56 on September 3rd, 2009
No vaccine is absolutely no risk. I get regular flu shots, but there is always a risk of unforseen reactions. I wonder if any provision is being made for those allergic to eggs or who object to vaccinations on the basis of religious beliefs.
at 10:15 on September 3rd, 2009
From what I understand, here in Canada health care workers have priority for the H1N1 shot when the vaccine finally arrives. I haven't heard about it being mandatory.
From some reports I have also gleamed that the shot will be too late to be effective. Some people will require a second shot. Canada has ordered 50 Million vaccines for a population of 31 Million. If a booster is needed, one can easily figure out that there aren't enough vaccines around.
at 15:42 on September 3rd, 2009
My mum works in the health care field with patients and she has been asked to get the shot, it's not mandatory, but it's 'strongly encouraged'.
at 15:50 on September 3rd, 2009
I agree with encouraging health care workers, for their own good. Forcing them, under the threat of being fired, is another issue.
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lemperor (not verified)at 18:10 on September 3rd, 2009
This is not primarily aimed at the healthcare worker's good but to ensure there are workers in the hospital during an outbreak and most importantly to protect the patients.
at 12:16 on September 3rd, 2009
Do a little searching on the new H1N1 vaccine and you will find all sorts of sites that are concerned about the lack of testing of this medicine. Add to that the probable side effects of some of the ingredients and all together, I find a potential disaster waiting to happen if ANYTHING is wrong with the vaccine....
If it were me being "required" I'd be filling a lawsuit tomorrow.
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Rahmattullah bin Mohamad Sidek (not verified)at 08:50 on September 9th, 2009
the best medicine is not to take any medicine, lets our body work for it. God Willing.
at 15:43 on September 3rd, 2009
I get a flu shot every year, I don't really see a problem with this.
at 18:46 on September 3rd, 2009
Mercury is one of the things in some vaccines, & some other compounds to stimulate an imune responce, both are reasons I don't get them usually. The other is, I seldom get sick.
at 11:02 on September 4th, 2009
In the U.S. school age children are required to have vaccinations before they can enter public schools. This is for the protection of not only themselves, but also to prevent spreading diseases leading to epidemics. The polio epidemic of the 1950s is an example of what can happen without a vaccine.
Why is it a good idea for hospital staff to be immunized against H1N1
There are some 100,000 people who get potentially deadly infections during hospital treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Infected incisions are particularly dangerous as hospital germs are more likely to be resistant to antibiotics that doctors use to kill them off.
I understand that some might consider the New York State hospital mandate an infringement on their rights; however, the dangers to other staff as well as patients if an outbreak should occur in a hospital or other institution where you have a concentrated population could be tragic.
I would urge you to read the information from the Centers for Disease Control and get all the information befor you decide on whether you believe the vaccine is prudent for you.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
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Devin Rice (not verified)at 13:45 on September 17th, 2009
I think you might find information regarding the polio vaccine of the 1950's to be interesting. The vaccine contained SV40 which has been directly linked to a number of serious illnesses. Although it was effective in preventing polio the side effects were just as bad.
at 15:59 on September 4th, 2009
I'm not against all vaccines, manny of the childhood vaccinations are quite necissary. But the H1N1 vac. has not been tested as it should & is being pushed out there as "harmless" when its not. Add to that, the media hype about it & the "manditory" vaccinations for some adults. How far will "we the people" let this go?
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Heroh (not verified)at 09:25 on September 15th, 2009
I agree completely with you, Spydermonky. I vaccinated my children when they were little, and it frustrates me to hear people say "my kid didnt get ANY vaccines and they're not sick!" Yeah. They're not sick due to herd immunity - the rest of us are keeping your child safe from diseases. BUT. BUT! I do research for any of the vaccines. This whole swine flu fearmongering is EXTREMELY suspect, and I'm currently looking for Canadian exemptions to the vaccine (for when it becomes mandatory for all citizens). I don't trust a word they say about this, and neither do a lot of medical professionals, I might add. It's so obvious that it's being overhyped. Why?? When the mainstream media pushes hard for something, I get suspicious.
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FLORENCE GETTER (not verified)at 08:11 on September 5th, 2009
FREEDOM OF CHOICE I SAY, EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO SAY WHAT GETS PUT IN THEIR BODY AND SHOULD NOT HAVE IT FORCED UPON THEM AT ANY COST. I TOO AM IN JEOPARDY OF LOSING MY JOB IF I DO NOT COMPLY. IF PEOPLE WANT A VACCINE THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN TESTED OR ONE THAT WE DO NOT GET HONEST DATA ON FROM OUR GOV'T THAT IS THEIR CHOICE!! I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE USA WHERE WE EXERCISED FREEDOM OF CHOICE. IT IS NOT ABOUT GETTING THE VACCINE, IT IS ABOUT THE CHOICE OF WANTING TO HAVE IT AND NOT BEING PENALIZED FOR SAYING NO!!!
at 08:58 on September 5th, 2009
Most people don't know that for some strange reason polio disappeared from the face of the earth even though we only vaccinated small portions of it. But the Vaccine industry took credit for it and used it as their mantra for selling the world on the need to vaccinate. And now they want to vaccinate for just about anything.
Your children are being dangerously exposed to a cocktail of poisons by an industry that has no understanding of how to develop and maintain a healthy body. Vaccination and the overuse of antibiotics is responsible for weakening the immune system of an entire population. They are chemical companies.
I am against vaccinations as it stands. It is a flawed, toxic, totally unproven model. It was built on lies and untruths. It is just a massive money machine. Close scrutiny would clearly show the ineffectiveness and the problems they actually cause, death being one of them.
But unfortunately this industry has a long history of manipulating critical trials results and they are so powerful that they even control the government institutions that are supposed to protect us from their unscrupuous business practices.
Don't you ever wonder why our justice system won't even recognize the connection with autism after so much evidence has already been collected? I argue that it is because of Reagan's vaccine compensation act, a crooked piece of legislation, that makes the government (us) responsible for the costs associated with acknowledging this.
Doesn't it bother you that the govt is promoting yet another scare, bird flu hoax, Swine flu scare of the 70's, neither of which materialized and that the cure is supposedly Tamiflu. Do you know that the govt spent billions on Tamiflu and that these doses are about to expire? Do you know that Rumsfeld is heavily involved and invested in Tamiflu? Yes Rumsfeld, the same guy who was instrumental in engineering and assuring that the poison Aspartame was approved and legalized by the FDA.
Do you recall the results of the 70's swine flu campaign? $1.3 billion in claims filed by paralysis victims. 25 deaths, hundreds paraplegics even healthy 20 year olds. And the swine flu never materialized.
Vaccination will someday, unfortunately not soon enough, be regarded as crude and barbaric as bleeding people was.
at 14:48 on September 6th, 2009
I believe that in the U.S. mandatory vaccines would not pass muster with the U.S. Supreme Court because of the liberty interest that requires due process under the 5th and 14th Amendments. Vaccinating adults is different than vaccinating adults according to the law in the United States.
Dr. Fudenberg, a leading expert in immunology in the U.S., found with his studies that there is a linear correlation between risk of Alzheimer's disease and the number of flue shots. (Dr. Fudenberg is an old acquaintance of mine (when I did my advanced degree in immunology). During the last "swine flu" scare, thousands developed Guillain Barre syndrome a potentially deadly form of paralysis that puts one on a ventilator and takes months to years from which to recover.(personal knowledge as an expert) The govenment is NOT discussing this or giving the public informed consent about these issues. Dr. Fudenberg was quietly marginalized because of his study.
Polio improved partly because of improved sanitation, the normal cycle of polio, and partly because of the vaccine. Polio vaccine and all vaccines are not without risks. We have pertussis vaccine, but now that there is very little immunity in adults (most vaccines only last about 8 yrs v natural immunity from catching the illness) because most young adults now were vaccinated as babies instead of catching pertussis as children. This means that now babies are catching pertussis and dying. There has been an increase in the infection rate in babies. Babies used to do pretty well because they didn't catch it because their parents were immune. Now there is such a high rate of young adults with pertussis (modified to a mild illness because of partial immunity - they just get a prolonged and annoying cough of 6-12 weeks), that the babies are catching it. So the vaccine industry has made an adult pertussis vaccine and is trying to promote it for all adults every ten years like the tetanus booster for adults (which most people don't bother to get). There is a profit motive in promoting vaccines. In Illinois alone, there is a 25 million dollar profit for the vaccine industry everytime one shot is mandated for school children. Don't underestimate the power of money in controlling government decisions.
There have been major problems with a monkey virus which causes cancer contaminating most of our polio vaccine supply in the first couple of rounds when it was used- God knows how many cases of cancer this caused! Most of us older folks were injected with it. The first round of rotavirus vaccine had to be removed from the market because of more than 20 case of it inducing intussusseption, a problem with the intestines in infants requiring emergency surgery. Long term affects of most of the vaccines, as well as long term affects on the epidemiology of the illnesses they supposedly prevent still are not known. There is a theoretical possibility that the hepatitis vaccine through the enhancing antibody effect, well known to tumor immunologists, may actually induce a larger number of cases of chronic hepatitis B carriers after 10-20 years. The vaccine wears off after about 8 years and then if the person is exposed to hepatitis B without getting a booster, under the enhancing antibody effect, it would be more likely the person would have a subclinical infection that they are not aware of and then there would be an increase in infections because they become an unknown carrier, as well as the resulting increase in the liver cancer rate. Only time will tell. The government refuses to discuss this possibility. The government also doesn't tell the public that the influenza vaccine doesn't work about 1 out of every 3 years because they made it to the wrong strains or guessed wrong as to what the mix of strains would be that year.
I would say you should get the vaccine only if the H1N1 influenza virus becomes more virulent to the point of having a MUCH higher death rate, you have some chronic illness that would put you at a higher risk of death, you are pregnant (for unknown reasons pregnant women have a high rate of death from influenza) or you accept the higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (you may want to take in account the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in your family and the possibility you may be at a higher genetic risk if the incidence in your family is high). I believe it is legally and biologically wrong to mandate the vaccine for anyone.
Public health measure like barring those with fever from work or school, hand sanitizing, frequent sanitizing of door handles and other fomites (objects where germs may be passed from hand to hand), along with increased use of vitamin D (2000 units per day for adults - shown in one large institution that during an influenza epidemic the incidence of disease was much lower on a ward where the patients got vit D supplements - see: http://www.empowher.com/news/herarticle/2009/02/25/influenza-and-vitamin-d) may be a good alternative to the vaccine if the influenza strain remains as mild as it is now. In the long run, the more people that catch and develop immunity to the mild form of H1N1 influenza going around presently, the better. This will provide a level of herd immunity that will prevent spread if the H1N1 should mutate to a more deadly strain in the next year or coming decades.
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Tom Malone, PhsyD (not verified)at 00:36 on September 8th, 2009
It is very clear to readers that you do not have knowledge on the fields you discuss as well as you twist meanings or interpret things into your own warped view. I cant help to feel sorry for you as youre obviously suffering from several mental disorders.
at 00:44 on September 8th, 2009
Tom Malone, PhsyD, please address the subject matter and refrain from any personal attacks. You can review NowPublic Code of Conduct, here. Thanks!
at 21:59 on September 9th, 2009
Thanks to everyone who read, commented on, and/or recommended this story! Thanks to Dr Linda Shelton and a211423 for the links. If anyone learns of a lawsuit over this, please let us know. I will be keeping my 'eye' on it too. Thanks again!
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Florence Getter (Cookie) (not verified)at 10:46 on September 12th, 2009
Please go to my petition and sign, does not mean you don't want vaccine or anything just that we as American Citizens have FREEDOM OF CHOICE and have the right to exercise that without repercussions.www.thepetitionsite.com/3/FREEDOM-OF-CHOICE-VACCINES
at 12:47 on September 17th, 2009
Thank you for the additional information, Florence Getter.
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Jo Ann Miskimon (not verified)at 03:20 on September 25th, 2009
Employees @ GBMC were faced with no choice. Get the flu shot or get fired! Simple as that. Why are our rights always taken away? No doubt I will be terminated from my job due to the fact I refuse the flu shot. I have been so stressed over this issue. It's not enough the government takes away our rights now we are threaten by our employers. WHO IS PROTECTING THE EMPLOYEES RIGHTS?
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SA (not verified)at 03:22 on September 17th, 2009
I am very worried about this vaccine, as it containsd nanoparticles, which have not been tested thoroughly. These nanoparticles have been used in other countries, with less than optimal success - www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15092. My job is reqiring I take this shot as a condition of employment. I cannot afford to live without my job but I do not want the shot.
at 12:46 on September 17th, 2009
SA, thank you for reading and commenting, and for the link. Visiting the OSHA Healthcare Advisors Tools page may be of help to you (it is referenced in the story above).
at 05:07 on September 20th, 2009
Oh my.. anyway.. Thanks for this information. We should really be careful nowadays.
at 05:11 on September 20th, 2009
You are very welcome, micomariscal! Thank you for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation!
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dave jones (not verified)at 07:16 on October 12th, 2009
Anyone seeking to avoid this propoganda based requriement, should call attorney patti finn in piermont, new york. or, check out her website at vaccineexemption.org