AJN Vaccine Poll Results

Update: Oct. 21: Thanks to everyone who took part in the vaccination poll (interestingly, only a fraction of those who visited the poll actually answered the simple yes/no question). The poll is now closed. The results: approximately 170 respondents (nurses?) answered the question “should the H1N1 vaccine be mandated for nurses?” Of these, 77% answered “no” and 23% answered “yes.”

Judging from comments we’ve received in response to other posts (here, here, and here) about the H1N1 vaccine, we surmise that not every nurse who answered no is actually opposed to getting the vaccine. They just don’t want to be told they have to get it. Others, of course (as some of the strongly worded comments left in response to this poll show) are entirely against it, whether it’s mandated or not. And others are wholeheartedly for it, firm believers that decisions made by experts using available evidence usually, if not always, lead to benefits for us all.

But there’s obviously a lot more to say on this topic, and we’ll be posting about it soon.

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2009-10-26T12:04:40-04:00October 13th, 2009|nursing perspective|3 Comments
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Mandating Flu Vaccines for Nurses

By Diana J. Mason, RN, PhD, editor-in-chief emeritus

Yesterday, nurses and other health care workers from New York State went to the state capitol in Albany to protest a regulation issued by the New York State Department of Health mandating that all health care workers get vaccinated for both the seasonal flu and for the pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza by November 30th or lose their jobs. Deborah Gerhardt, RN, who was interviewed by USA Today, says she may have to lose her job because she doesn’t have confidence in the safety of the new H1N1 vaccine: “Just because the FDA approved the H1N1 vaccine ‘doesn’t mean it’s safe in my book.'”

mandatingflushotsNew York State Commissioner of Health Richard Daines, MD, disagrees, and followed up an open letter to health care workers released on September 24th with a press conference to defend the new policy. The New York State Nurses Association, which urges nurses to get vaccinated but is against mandatory vaccinations, wrote their own open letter in response.

Citing one study of health care workers during a mild flu season that showed that 23% of the workers showed evidence of having had the flu that season but that 59% of these said they didn’t have the flu that year, Daines said that his concern is that workers are carrying the virus and exposing at-risk patients without realizing it. When challenged on whether family members and other visitors represent an equally great threat to patient […]

2016-11-21T13:22:03-05:00September 30th, 2009|nursing perspective|7 Comments
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Don’t Panic, Prepare: Edgy Moment for H1N1

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN editorial director & interim editor-in-chief

'Nuff Said by ElektraCute / Elektra Noelani Fisher, via Flickr.

While many people (including nurses) remain relatively unworried about the coming flu season, others, it seems, are on high alert. I do wonder about the millions of dollars being spent (and being made) in the name of H1N1 (swine flu). I’ve heard of several seminars touting “must-know” facts and bearing titles that might make hospital administrators feel negligent if they don’t send staff (at hefty registration fees). Many companies, including mine, are distributing bottles of hand sanitizer to employees. And I can’t even imagine how many N95 respirators have sold since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently recommended their use by health care workers caring for patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza.

Take it seriously. Still, as a former emergency nurse, I’m all for being prepared for disasters. This influenza should be taken seriously. As of September 20, the World Health Organization reports there have been 3,917 deaths and more than 300,000 confirmed cases worldwide, although the actual number of cases is probably much higher.  The latest surveillance report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates widespread flu activity throughout much of […]

2016-11-21T13:22:05-05:00September 29th, 2009|nursing perspective|0 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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