Business Review | Jul 24, 2009
The New York State Nurses Association has come out against a state regulation that requires every health-care worker to be immunized against influenza.
The regulation has been adopted by the New York State Hospital Planning and Review Council. It’s intended as a defense against a possible fall outbreak of swine flu.
The Nurses Association called the council’s action a “scorched earth” approach.
“While we encourage nurses to be immunized for the flu, we do not agree that nurses should be required to get immunizations as a condition of employment,” said Eileen Avery, associate director of the association’s education, practice and research program.
Avery contended that the flu vaccine is not 100 percent effective. “There is no guarantee that in any given year, the public will benefit from mandatory immunization of health-care providers,” she said.
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