States Move to Require Some Health Care Workers to Receive H1N1 Vaccination

With the H1N1 pandemic spreading rapidly, many doctors, nurses, and other U.S. health-care workers for the first time are being required by their states to get flu shots, drawing praise from many public-health authorities but condemnation from some employees, unions and other critics who object to mandatory vaccination. Check with your state and local government to find out if they require direct support professionals to receive the H1N1 vaccine.

What's at Issue?
An increasing number of doctors, nurses and other health-care workers for the first time are being required to get flu shots, in part because of concerns that the swine flu pandemic may overwhelm the U.S. health-care system.

Who's Objecting and Why?
Some health-care workers are objecting for a variety of reasons, including concerns about the safety of the vaccine, the sentiment that being vaccinated should remain voluntary and, in some cases, the mistaken fear that the vaccine itself can cause the flu.

For Example...
States: New York this year became the first state to require flu shots, a policy that affects about 522,000 employees.

Hospitals: The Hospital Corp. of America, known as HCA, in Nashville, the nation’s largest private hospital chain, is also requiring the shots this year, a policy that affects an estimated 120,000 employees in 20 states.

Providers: MedStar Health, the largest health-care employer in the Washington region, is requiring flu shots this year for the first time for all 25,000 of its employees and 5,000 affiliated physicians.