The article I selected is called "Albany Judge Blocks Vaccination Rule" and it was from the New York Times on October 16 2009. The authors are Anemona Hartocollis and Sewell Chan. The article deals with a case in Albany, New York where Dr. Richard F. Daines, the state's health comissioner had required all of the people working in the hospital to receive the vaccination for swine flu. In his official order he insinuated that those who didn't receive the vaccine would be fired. Some disgruntled employees, three nurses in particular, refused to be vaccinated and brought their complaint to court where Justice Thomas J. McNamara suspended Dr. Daines' order. The nurses are now waiting to take the trial to yet another court. This is a local example of something that is happening on a national scale. Although this article is about Albany, NY there are examples of this happening across the country. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/nyregion/17vaccine.html
The authors of this article remain very unbaised throughout. They give mainly facts and seem to be giving the opinions of each side of the argument. Anemona Hartocollis has written numerous articles for the New York Times pertaining to health issues, specifically disease. Sewell Chan is also qualified to write about this topic having worked for the Times for five years and being the bureau chief of the newspapers online blog. I think that they do a good job of characterizing the nurses. Ecpecially with the use of this quote which I believe sums up how they are feeling about the "forced" vaccination.
“These three women are not saying, ‘We don’t want to be vaccinated,’ ” Mr. Kindlon said. “They’re saying: ‘We don’t need this vaccination. We don’t think, for any number of reasons, it’s effective or necessary. It might be harmful to us. It hasn’t been adequately tested.’ ”
I agree with what they are saying for a few reasons. I do agree that someone shouldn't be forced to get a vaccination under a threat of losing their job escpecially during such a difficult economic time. I also think that it isn't fair escpecially if the hospital has pregnant employees who don't feel it is safe or anyone with a health condition. There is a good amount of evidence that the vaccine may have been made in a hurry and it's not fair or ethical to force people to put something into their body that they don't believe should be there.
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Interesting article, Rachel! I completely agree with a lot of what you said about the article as well. I found it shocking that something like this is even going on in America. I was completely unaware of the extent to which people were being encouraged to receive the swine flu vaccine. As it says in the article, the three women even felt "forced" to receive the vaccine. It wouldn't be that hard for me to envision something like this happening in China or India, but in such a "free" country like ours, this is just absolutely ridiculous! It should be illegal to force someone to potentially harm themselves without their consent. It was basically like the employees at the hospital were given an ultimatum and would lose their jobs as a consequence of not receiving the vaccination. I understand where the state health commissioner was coming from in his request for all hospital employees to receive the vaccine because he really was just trying to protect the health of his people, but I think he took advantage of his power and pushed his limits too far. I was truly shocked by this article!
ReplyDeleteI agree that people have the right to control what goes into their bodies. Nurses, however, are not only responsible for their own bodies, but also for the bodies of their patients. If nurses are not required to be vaccinated, then someone working in a cancer ward can give the flu to their patients. An immune-compromised patient dies; the angry family sues the hospital and tries to prosecute the nurse, who the hospital will fire so that their settlement will be easier. The point of a mandatory vaccination is, hopefully, to prevent any patients from dying this way. The chance of death from any vaccine is about one in a million, according to the CDC and WebMD. I can’t accurately tell you the possibility of an unvaccinated nurse bringing swine flu into a cancer ward and killing patients, but I imagine that, given the decision Dr. Daines made, it must be significantly more likely. I don’t believe he was acting maliciously. He was trying to save patients, which is admirable, and cover his butt from negative reactions to nurse-borne swine flu deaths, which is human.
ReplyDeleteWhile I hate to see people losing their jobs, I do not envy Albany nurses the choice between risking their lives and risking the lives of their patient.
I agree with many of the things that Eric and Julia put forth. I liked this article a lot because I was also unaware that this was going on in our country. We should never have to do something that could potentially hurt us. I think that it is crazy that people must be "forced" to get the regular flu or swine flu vaccination just because they are nurses. But I also agree with what Eric said about a nurse getting sick and then infecting her patients. If a lot of nurses chose not to get the vaccination and some of them got sick, that would put a lot of patients in danger. This would make the situation worse because many people could possibly get sick and even die.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with what the nurses are saying though. In the article it says, "They’re saying: ‘We don’t need this vaccination. We don’t think, for any number of reasons, it’s effective or necessary.'" The nurses do not think that the vaccination is effective or necessary but they are most likely going to be giving out the vaccination. They don't believe in the vaccination because they think it could harm them but they are going to give out vaccines to patients, and potentially harm their patients. If they do not believe in the vaccine then maybe they shouldn't be giving it to people.
Although I generally think that people have the right to decide on the medical treatments that they receive, I have a hard time deciding whether health care professionals should be required to take certain vaccinations.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am tempted to say that as private citizens, healthcare workers should be able to decide whether they receive vaccination, I also think that their contact with high-risk patients should be taken into consideration. As Eric preciously mentioned, nurses and doctors could cause numerous liabilities in terms of patient health and safety as well as a liability to the hospital.
Despite the concern of the flu being spread to patients from hospital personnel, I think it is important to keep the flu in mind in the "grand scheme of things." Consider this: there are millions of bacteria and viruses in the air and on people at all times. The flu is one single virus in a pool of millions. Although requiring healthcare workers to get the vaccine to keep their jobs would perhaps hinder the spread of the flu, there are always numerous other pathogens present at all times that infect people.
While requiring health professionals to get the vaccine would certainly stop some patients from contracting flu, the nurses certainly have an argument in saying that the vaccination may not be effective or necessary.
I think Rachel chose a great article that accurately depicts both sides of the legal problem at hand.
ReplyDeleteJulia makes a good point in saying that the vaccination should be a choice here in the U.S., where we legally have the freedom of choice. However, her reasoning is flawed in saying, "It should be illegal to force someone to potentially harm themselves without their consent." The article is saying that the vaccination is a choice. And it is; it is a choice of employment or vaccination.
While this also may be unfair, to essentially threaten workers to get the vaccine, at least our government is not standing idly by. Justice Thomas J. McNamara of the State Supreme Court has intervened in the state health authority's requirement and is working on a compromise. It is clear that this issue cannot simply go one way or the other.
Besides, even if it is an outrage that pregnant women and single mothers in the hospitals are being forced to get these vaccinations, they should expect that precautionary measurements are necessary in times of disease. The people with lawsuits clearly did not, and that is where the problem occurs.
What I want to know is where do we draw the line? Where do our legal obligations meet our ethical responsibilities?
I think that the three nurses were right to bring this up in court and to not to just get the vaccination because they were threatened to lose their jobs. It is their right to decide what treatment they get or do not get.
ReplyDeleteLike Jack mentioned earlier, if they don't believe that the vaccination is going to help, then why are they giving it out?
That is an important question, and as much as I wonder the same thing, there are other people who are more informed about the vaccination and its importance that are encouraging us to get it.
Great article Rachel! I found this article extremely shocking, and very informative. With the new H1N1 virus, most Americans are anxiously awaiting for the arrival of the vaccine. Although the vaccine may prevent the spread of the virus, I believe it is a person’s decision to choose whether they would like to receive the shot. Some individuals do not want to receive the shots based on religious, political or personal beliefs. The fact of the matter is that these nurses are Americans and are entitled to their freedom. If they decide they do not want to receive the shot, no person or company should force them to do so. The idea of these nurses losing their jobs over a personal decision is ludicrous, and idea of enforcing the vaccine should be banned unconstitutional. As Americans, one is entitled to their freedom and under the constitution; and these freedoms cannot be taken away! I like how Julia compared China’s government and the US’s government of personal freedom to its citizens; because it would not be shocking if China enforced all citizens to receive vaccines, because they do not have personal freedom such as Americans. Overall, I found this article very interesting and very controversial! I wonder what the ruling in the court will be??
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article because I was completely unaware that this was happening in America. I agree a lot with what other people are saying in regards to this article and think that the nurses were 100% right to bring this matter to court. For no reason should a person have to worry about losing their job because they do not want to get a vaccine that has not even been available for very long. Also why should a person get a vaccine that they do not think will benefit them in the end.
ReplyDeleteLike the nurses, I did not want to receive the vaccination even though it was highly recommended and even given at the school. I just think it is too new of a vaccine and that not enough testing has been done on it.
This is a really interesting article, and I think it's fascinating to see such an intense case. I agree that it isn't fair to force the employees to get vaccinated. When they got their respective job and signed the papers, I'm sure there was nothing bimding them to getting this vaccination. If there was, the case would not have made it very far in court. Therefore it isn't right to force the workers to be vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteI also think it's neat (for lack of a better word) to see how H1N1 is affecting to many areas of life. I personally only thought of it on a large scale with people getting sick and dying, and money being spent ON the vaccine. It never hit me that people could lose jobs over it.
I'm really interested to see how the ruling will turn out!
Great article Rachel! I found it quite interesting, and just from seeing how we all have reacted to it very important as well. I find that this is a very compelling argument over the rights of the three nurses and how their employer sees to it that the patients are safe. It think that the nurses should have to get the vaccine because if they catch the disease, it could travel throught the hosiptal very quickly, and kill many patients who can not defend themselves. Their employer is just trying to keep eveyone healthy, and that's what a hospital is supossed to do in the first place. It is supossed to save people's lives and let them heal up before sending them into the swine flu invested world of today. I know im making an exaggeration about the swine flu, but it is important that they get the vaccine in order to save the lives of others. In almost any other case I would say that it is not right to force somone into taking a vaccine, but being a nurse, one has the reposiblity to help save the lives of others. If they aren't against getting the vaccine in the first place, and they are making their case that they shouldn't be forced to I think they should let it go. I'm not tring to be mean or anything, but you should not be allowed to place someone else's life in danger by not getting a vaccine. I do not want to see anyone loosing their job of something like this however.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to learn that health care professionals were given this ultimatum. Every individual should have the right to refuse vaccination (I refused). I think it is unethical for Dr. Daines to fire anyone who did not receive the vaccine. However, I understand where he is coming from. Men and women working in hospitals are responsible for the lives of others and not consenting to the H1N1 vaccine could potentially harm their patients.
ReplyDeleteThe nurses’ decision to bring this to court was a good choice. Their jobs should not have been threatened, but maybe they should have just gotten the vaccine to reduce the spread of H1N1. I am interested in how this matter plays out because I am stuck in the middle.
I really liked this article. As I was scrolling down the articles this title really surprised me and make me think a lot of about swine flu vaccinations. If nurses are saying we dont need a vaccination then maybe there is something we need to know about what we are actually getting injected into our bodies.
ReplyDeleteI like how Fiona brought up that it was a good choice for the nurses to bring their case to court. They should have been allowed to voice their opinions since they are dealing, first hand, with the vaccines.
Great article Rachel! I found it very interesting that nurses said they felt "forced" to get the vaccination and that they were pressured into getting it. I found it very interesting because i had no idea an issue like this was going on in our country. I am in complete agreement with Eric when he was saying that nurses and other healtcare professionals are responsible for their patients well being, and that if a nurse got her patient sick from a prevetable flu then it could cause a lot of trouble. I think that all nurses, doctors, and all other healthcare professionals should be getting this vaccination for the reason that it could prevent someone with an comprimised immune system from dying from the flu.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the ultimatium of losing your job or gegt the vaccination is a little harsh though. people should be allowed to choose what is injected into their bodies. Not their employers. I do agree with the nurses' decison to bring their issue to court, because this vaccination has only been released for a short period of time and that does worry people. Overall I think that losing a job over not wanting a vaccine is ridiculous.