Mandatory Influenza Vaccine Essay

Medical facilities should not mandate flu vaccines without studies to prove decreases in transmission of the influenza virus. Facilities should continue to promote safe practices to prevent infections of all contagious illnesses.

Also, there is no violation of the right to make contracts between employer and employee by making influenza vaccinations mandatory for healthcare workers. The article “Vaccinating the Health-Care Workforce” states, “Courts have ruled that states may also limit and regulate contracts in the interest of the public’s welfare, and essentially to place protection of the public against individual economic interest” (Stewart). Healthcare facilities do not violate their worker’s rights by making influenza immunizations mandatory as long as it benefits the public health.

Imagine two children; one who has been completely vaccinated, and the other has never been vaccinated. Both children fall ill from the same virus, but the child who had been vaccinated fully recovers, while the child who was not passes away due to complications. That child’s life could have been saved if the child received the proper vaccinations. Ever since the invention of the Smallpox vaccine more than two centuries ago, there has been an abundance of controversy over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccinations and immunizations. It has recently been argued whether laws should be introduced that render some or all vaccines mandatory for all children. Parents, health care specialists, nurses, teachers, and children

Vaccinations have been a topic of controversy among various populations for decades. The controversy exists around the decision to be vaccinated for certain contagious diseases or to omit receiving vaccinations for various reasons including those of medical, ethical, and religious derivation. The profession of healthcare faces a particular obstacle in regard to annual vaccinations against influenza. This review will discuss the following ethical debate: Is it ethical to mandate health care workers to receive annual influenza vaccinations? For the purposes of this review, the term ‘health care worker’ will be defined as any person who is employed by a health care institution and participates in personal interactions with patients. Undoubtedly, registered nurses (RNs) are among the most prevalent of all health care workers. This topic was chosen because influenza is a rampant and contagious respiratory virus that carries the potential to infect anyone. According the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (2014), approximately 5 to 15 percent of the United States population becomes infected with influenza annually and roughly 200,000 people are hospitalized each year due to influenza. Clearly, influenza generates havoc for many people; however, the virus can be largely prevented by receiving an annual vaccination. Annual influenza vaccinations have been rendered the best way to prevent seasonal influenza and have also been deemed safe (CDC, 2014). Health care workers

In recent years encouragement to get flu shots has become a yearly mantra. Elderly, children six months to two years, health care workers and immune-deficient people are urged in the strongest terms to go to their doctors or clinics and get a flu shot. This group encompasses about 98 million people. In the fall of 2004 this was in the forefront of American and to some extent the Western World media with the shortage of this flu seasons vaccine. Current medical wisdom states that flu shots are safe, effective and prevent mortality. A recent study published by The Journal of the American Medicine Association (JAMA) has brought the current wisdom into question. On February 14, 2005 JAMA

With influenza vaccination rates remaining low in the HCP population, there has recently been an increased emphasis on improving vaccination rates among HCPs. Low influenza vaccination rates have caused many healthcare facilities to initiate and mandate employees to receive the influenza vaccine. Research has proven to reduce morbidity and mortality among patients in healthcare facilities as well as decrease illness and absenteeism among HCPs (Sickbert & Weber, 2013). For these reasons multiple professional organizations are recommending an annual influenza vaccine for all HCPs, if medically suitable for this vaccination. Requiring a physician waiver for non-suitable HCP, all non-suitable HCP are expected or required to wear a mask in direct patient care areas.

“Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them. It's an unpretentious message parents need to keep hearing.” –Jeffery Kluger. The change in seasons can be intense for some people. It triggers them to become ill and get sick if they do not take care of themselves. Children, among these people, are more prone to becoming ill because their immune systems are not yet fully developed. A great number of parents do not know that getting their children vaccinated when recommended by doctors is a simple solution to childhood illnesses. Therefore, there should be stricter legal regulations that encourage parents to ensure that their children receive vaccinations. This will raise the awareness of vaccinations which will help more people receive them so

Mandatory Influenza Vaccinations for healthcare providers can be a controversial topic for some and may propose a challenge to some provider’s ethical values and beliefs. The topic of mandatory vaccination for influenza (“flu”) has been widely studied and debated among professionals over several years. It is apparent that there is some movement towards a mandatory vaccination for influenza by healthcare institutions as the benefit out weighs the risk on several fronts. “Influenza infection is associated with 36,000 excess deaths and > 200,000 hospitalizations in the United States annually. It is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable death in the United States every year” (Babcock, Geminhart, Jones, Dunagan, & Woeltje, 2010, p. 459).

Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like

Between 1924 and 2013, vaccinations prevented 103 million cases of polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria, and pertussis (Bailey). Vaccinating is “the process by which pathogenic cells are injected into a healthy person in an attempt to cause the body to develop antibodies to a particular virus or bacterium—successful creation of antibodies is referred to as immunity to the disease caused by the particular pathogen” (Introduction to Should Vaccinations be Mandatory). Popular conflicts regarding vaccination include the worry that this form of immunization isn’t natural, the idea that vaccination schedule for children in the U.S. takes away parents’ rights to make decisions for their children, and the concern that vaccinations aren’t safe for all children. Most doctors and scientists advocate for vaccinations in the name of herd immunity, protection against foreign diseases and prevention against pockets of disease outbreaks. Vaccinations should be mandatory for all children in the United States for who they are deemed safe and effective.

Influenza is an infectious illness that can be spread from one individual to the next. It can be transmitted by means of saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. It can also be spread by coming in contact with the virus on contaminated surfaces. Influenza is responsible for an average of 36,000 deaths and for more than 226,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States. (Davidson, 2007-2009, Davis, 2007).

As a result, the burden placed on the health care system is significantly reduced. Therefore, people at a high risk of contracting influenza should seriously consider being vaccinated. Evidence suggests that educating high-risk people about the influenza vaccine is worthwhile. For example, during the influenza season of 2000-2001, 70% of adults 65 years of age and older received the flu shot. This suggests

Our second most important long-tern outcome which aligned with selected HealthyPeople 2020 objective; will be to approach and address the agency’s unwritten policy according to immunization staff and other’s even administrative staff is vaccine exemptions, personal or religious tend has increased and the recent new changes of special informed consent forms and requirement (Wang, 2014. et al.). Staff have expressed an unwritten policy of, “If they ask for religious exemption form, don’t say anything just give it to them and let them sign. Not a part of the Florida Law on Immunizations (Florida Statue.gov,

Influenza, as stated above, is a preventable spreadable infection. The goal of this education session was to expand the knowledge of long-term residents on vaccination against influenza. In a preliminary meeting, it was found that over 15 residents had refused this years’ influenza vaccination. The objectives of the teaching plan included: identifying signs and symptoms of influenza, discuss both positive and negative feels during the vaccine, identify exclusion criteria to receiving the vaccine, and demonstrate arm exercises to prevent soreness after vaccination (“Government”, 2014).

The problem explored into this essay is the Influenza (flu) vaccine and if it should be compulsory for the students attending the International School of Amsterdam. Before going into details about the vaccine itself it is key to understand what Influenza is. The flu is a virus. Viruses are parasite which cause the infection and spread of diseases such as smallpox, chicken pox or in this case influenza1. Viruses enter a body which will be their host for the remaining of time. They attach themselves to a cell of the body and eventually with all the other cells leading to inevitable contamination of the hosting body1. This event can occur due to the size of the virus, which is around 8 times smaller than an E. Coli bacterium1. The virus of Influenza