An interesting article on mandatory health care worker vaccination
This weeks issue of the New England Journal of Medicine published and article on mandatory health care worker vaccination.
Increasing health care vaccination rates for influenza above the dismal 40% that is usually seen would help decrease transmission of influenza in health care facilities from health care worker to patient. Many of whom are too susceptible to complication of influenza. Vaccinating the health care worker is primarily to protect the patients more than the health care worker. As a bonus it has also been shown to keep health care worker absenteeism down during high hospital census months.
Though I think it is in principle a good idea. I was unsure of the constitutional and legal implications of this. This article does a good job at presenting the legal aspect of this issue. Mainly citing courts upholding vaccination where the public health safety takes precedence over personal preferences.
A few hospitals in Illinois have already instituted mandatory vaccination successfully. This may become the norm in future seasons.
Mandatory Vaccination of health care workers
Tags: Vaccination
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