Forced flu shot at work

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  • serena569
    serena569 Posts: 427 Member
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    I'm all for it. If you chose to work in a hospital than you should do everything you can to not get sick and spread illness. If you don't want to follow those rules, go into home healthcare were you can be your own boss.

    Yes I see what you mean but I work in an office away from patients.

    Me too but it's not like we're in isolation. My office doesn't have a private door to the outside. I don't have a private bathroom. The cafeteria is shared with patients and their families. Patients and families always stop us in the hallways to help them find their way.

    I get the shot because it's free and I don't have time to be sick.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    ...I took a survey who did and didnot not get the flu shot and what happened? everyone who recieve the flu shot GOT SICK AND lost work time. DO NOT TAKE THE FLU SHOT

    :laugh: Bahahahaha! Real scientific survey, huh? You should publish those results in a medical journal. I'm a teacher and I get a flu shot every year, because I hate getting the flu with a passion. My district offers the shot for free, but does not require it. I have not gotten the flu in all the years that I have taken the shot. It's a relief when everyone around you is puking out both ends and you're doing just fine. Of course, I could blame all the colds I've gotten on the flu shot, like so many people have done here, but I realize that my flu vaccine doesn't cause or prevent regular old colds. :flowerforyou:
  • ChihakuZeal
    ChihakuZeal Posts: 65
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    I would refuse it since I have never had a flu shot before, and I never had the flu.
    All of my other friends who had it would get it, and if I have to wear a mask all day to test my immunity, then so be it.
    I shouldn't have to have vaccinations forced into my body unless I agree to them.
  • Presleyforpresident
    Presleyforpresident Posts: 172
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    i personally don't believe in government/medical injections.
    i don't want to have someone stick a needle into my arm and pump me full of an unknown substance that i don't trust,
    like my dad gets flu shots every year. he'd be thrilled to get one
    and i'd be stark raving pissed and fight it.
  • rorae
    rorae Posts: 34 Member
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    I have been in hospitals for 30+ years. I used to get the flu shot , like a good little soldier. I stopped a few years ago, when the CDC admitted they "goofed" up the formulas. hmmm.
    I also have not had the flu for years, if ever.
    It is mandatory for patient care staff, or they may choose to wear a mask during patient contact.
    So while I appreciate all the comments from people who say we work where we do, so we should do everything we can to keep the patients healthy....how would you feel if your employer told you that "doritos" are not allowed because you are overweight , or you must take this shot to increase your productivity.....seriously think about it. Where does this type of thing end?
  • momof2TONI
    momof2TONI Posts: 116
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    I used to be against getting a flu shot, and I got sick with the flu nearly ever year. I finally started getting a flu shot every year and have not gotten the flu since. (knock on wood)
  • cobes24
    cobes24 Posts: 132 Member
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    [/quote]
    If a hospital worker has the flu he/ she shouldn't be working in the hospital until they are better.
    [/quote]


    And who will take care of the patients while that worker is out? It's not like a desk job where your work waits for you until you come back. Patients require 24-7 care--you have to be half dead to call out sick.

    In my current position, I am 50% of the workforce--it's me and another provider for the duration of my shift. I have yet to call out sick; I self medicate to control my symptoms and I show up for work. I wait until a day off to wallow in my illness. I can think of 2 times in the last year where one of my partners called in sick--one case he was in the ER with a kidney stone, the other he was pooping uncontrollably.
  • Lisaherbalmomma
    Lisaherbalmomma Posts: 63
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    I would let state my reasons for refusing and let them fire me, if they so chose to. My grandmother was sick as a dog after getting a flu shot two diff times and I know others that it happened to. Also, check out all the info about it-it's not science at all, it's a money maker for pharms and buddies. It's not hard to find the truth about flu shots.
  • jessicamarie81
    jessicamarie81 Posts: 441 Member
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    I couldn't believe the way I felt after being practically forced to get the flu shot, as soon as I came back to my office I felt immediately sick...I got a sore throat and runny nose, that night I had nausea, chills, and a fever, I felt like utter crap and I never get sick. I researched about the flu shot that night and people say you cannot get sick from the flu shot, but why do so many? And immediately after getting said shot? I've never had the flu in my life but for the first time in my 30 years after getting the shot I felt like I had it. Never again will I get the flu shot and no one better make me.
  • tacp
    tacp Posts: 2
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    To me, getting or not getting the shot is not the big issue… for some people it works, for others it doesn’t… The problem is that an employer is forcing its employees to put something INSIDE their bodies and then resort to using threats of termination to demand compliance. That is the big issue...
  • sandyrrt
    sandyrrt Posts: 255 Member
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    I'm sorry, but to be forced into taking a flu shot or be fired if you refuse, is against your civil liberties. I am a respiratory therapist with over 30 years experience, most in an acute care hospital where everything under the sun was treated. We were always offered and encouraged to take it, but never forced. If we declined, we had to sign a refusal form (I think more to protect the hospital's interests). There was a time in my early career that I would take it, but would still come down with a different strain of flu that the vaccine I was given didn't cover. So, I quit taking the vaccine and really paid attention to good hand hygiene and wearing masks around patients with the flu. I haven't had the flu in many years!
    You may want to consult a lawyer on the legality of your facility's "take it or be fired" stance.

    Good luck.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
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    I'd quit before I got a flu shot. The way I look at it is that your body can't build up natural immunities without actually getting sick sometimes.
  • Newf77
    Newf77 Posts: 802 Member
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    Lots of mixed debate here. I worked in the Health Care industry for many years, a few years back they were forceing injections upon us for H1N1 and other flu's. We were told that we had two options, either we took the injections or found other employers. We told them that they had two options to either brace for legal action or change their demands. A lawyer friend stepped up to bat and advised the hospital that we were going to file a suit for enough to cover our salaries and take our plight to the media. They quickly backed down and presented us with the option of wearing masks if we were coughing or around anyone who was coughing. Just a sidenote this was a Major Medical Name Hospital.
  • jessicamarie81
    jessicamarie81 Posts: 441 Member
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    The hospital I worked at only hired people on PRN and yet made them work full time hours a lot of the times without giving them health insurance, I guess they thought a free flu shot would keep people at work and that was their form of health insurance...in the time it took from walking from the health nurses office to my office in a matter of 5 minutes I became sicker than I've been in years, such a weird immediate feeling, no more flu shots for me ever or my son, I don't care who says what. I wish people would do their research instead of just thinking certain things are the "right" things to do.
  • mazzasweet
    mazzasweet Posts: 266 Member
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    I used to work in a medical center for same day surgery. We were "forced" to take the flu shot -- I'm personally against it and claimed I had an allergy to eggs -- which excused me.... not sure if that still works.

    I say no one should be able to force you to do anything to your body/put anything in your body that you don't want or makes you uncomfortable.
  • Dreamer058
    Dreamer058 Posts: 14
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    Would not like to be forced!!! This should be your choice. My doctor told me last year she wasn't even getting one. Not enough research on the new flu shot!!!
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,739 Member
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    You can't sue an employer for placing immunization restrictions on employment. No one is forcing you to get the flu shot--they're saying if you want to keep working there, you need to get the flu shot. If you want to find employment elsewhere, then do so, and you don't need to get the flu shot. I expect that if you decide to work at Staples, or McDonalds, or etc etc. you won't have to get a flu shot. No one is forcing you to work in healthcare.

    If you want to continue working in a hospital, it seems reasonable to get a vaccine that has been found in study after study to lessen the number and severity of cases of the flu. Seems a bit selfish to object to something that can protect those you care for--even if you are far from patients, you still make your paycheck from an institution that cares for patients, therefore you should be immunized.

    The flu shot can't make you sick--it's a DEAD virus. To say "I got the flu shot and got the worst flu of my life from it" means you lack a basic understanding of the science of vaccinations.

    ^^ This.
  • JennyLisT
    JennyLisT Posts: 402 Member
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    I have received a flu shot twice in my life. I became terribly ill after both instances. The first time I figured it might be a coincidence, but I now refuse flu shots. You can't force me to be sick under the guise of forcing me to be healthy. Also, I don't typically get ill during the usually flu season (even with a cold or sinus infection), so I don't see the point for ME PERSONALLY.

    I actually worked in a hospital. A flu shot was optional, but they're strongly encourage you to get one. I explained my reasoning. They understood.

    To those saying you can't get sick from a vaccination: I'm not saying I got the flu. I did get ill in reaction to the vaccination. I'm not anti-immunization, but flu shots don't end well for me. If you'd like to force me to have one, you can come hold my hair back and mop my brow.
  • gillz89
    gillz89 Posts: 81 Member
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    I'd refuse! The only time I ever had the flu, was the year I got the flu shot! It could have been my luck, but I'm not willing to take any chances again!

    Same here. I never got the flu before I got the flu shot. I got one for three years in a row (skipping last year) because my mom told me I should (she is an ER nurse who has to in order to work at the hospital) and I got the flu every year I got the shot. Before that I didn't get the shot and didn't get the flu. And last year, no shot, no flu. No flu shots for me. Seems like they make me sick.
  • ARDuBaie
    ARDuBaie Posts: 379 Member
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    To me, getting or not getting the shot is not the big issue… for some people it works, for others it doesn’t… The problem is that an employer is forcing its employees to put something INSIDE their bodies and then resort to using threats of termination to demand compliance. That is the big issue...

    This.

    If it is for the safety of people who are immunocompromised and for infants, the next step is to force paramedics, police officers, and those who teach or work in schools to get it. Well, since we don't know who is immunocompromised and we may bump into them in a mall, what's the next step? Everyone is mandated to get the flu shot.

    I really have a problem with an organization forcing its employees to get the flu shot. Some say it is a choice. Well, if I had known that I would be forced to get a flu shot when I became a nurse, I would have gone into another profession. I didn't know that this would happen (I have been in the healthcare field for 30-some years), so it is no longer a choice of being a nurse or not being a nurse. Then we have this 'or else you will be terminated' clause. That there makes it like you have no choice. Yeah, you could lie and get out of it, but you shouldn't have to lie. You should be able to say "No, thank you" and they should accept that.

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