Mandatory Flu Vaccination Case Study

Mandatory flu vaccination for health care providers (HCP) and students has been a controversial issue that create a needed discussion about the rights and boundaries of individuals who choose careers in these fields. It is argued that nurses have a duty to protect their patients and throughout nursing history nurses have championed for the prevention of communicable diseases through the use of vaccinations to their patients and communities. Admittedly it is true that nurses are in environments with vulnerable individuals who are at a higher risk of developing flu related complications and therefore risk of transferring these organisms to their patients. Nevertheless I disagree with the implementation of mandatory vaccination of nurses and

Is it justifiable to claim that community protection outweighs the liberties and rights of the HCP? Mandatory vaccines violate autonomy and “no one should be forced to take medications, in particular controversial and potentially harmful as vaccines” (Galanakis, Jansen, Lopalco, & Giesecke, p. 4-5, 2013). Consent to vaccination can intersect other rights such as medical, religious and cultural liberties. This creates an ethical dilemma where nurses are asked to choose between their beliefs and careers. Galanakis et al., (2103) warns that the principle of beneficence does not mean protecting patients by harming HCP (p. 5). Nurses should not be forced to harm themselves in order to protect patients, an example of this harm is when the flu vaccine strains do not match with the circulating strains and nurses may “suffer unjustified harm at no benefit to patients” (Galanakis et al., p. 5, 2013). There is also no definitive evidence to claim that non-vaccinated HCWs harm patients. The health care field must promote justice for all, and this also includes creating voluntary vaccination policies for HCP. Mandatory flu vaccination can also be viewed as coercion which can lead to distrust in the employee – employer relationship and also see a decrease in students who choose nursing as a

Gardam and Lemieux (2013) state that the effectiveness of the current influenza vaccine has been exaggerated in the medical literature and media. The seasonal flu shot protects against the three or four influenza viruses that researchers indicate will be most common during the upcoming season (CDC, p.1, 2015). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 2013’s vaccine was “only 55% effective against laboratory-confirmed influenza A and 70% effective against influenza B” (Gardam & Lemieux, 2013). Health care providers receiving the flu vaccination does not guarantee that patients may not be affected by different strains. Additionally HCP are not the only individuals who may expose patients to these pathogens, visiting family, and community members can also play a