Employer now requires all employees get annual flu vaccine (jobs, health insurance, agency)
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Influenza and pneumonia are still two very different diseases. There are many people who get a flu shot every year who should also get a pneumovax shot (ask your healthcare provider if in doubt) but flu shots are recommended for everybody over the age of 6 months.
You could not be more wrong... all you need to do is read the package insert that comes with the multi-dose vial and it clearly list those that should NOT receive the vaccine...
AND...
There are 3 common flu vaccines and the nasal variety is never recommended for those over 50 and it contains a variation of the live virus.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 11-09-2012 at 12:55 AM..
I disagree with this. There is (IMO) absolutely no justification whatsoever for the government forcing anybody to have anything. By all means let the government (and the employers) give 'best advice' but do you really want a country where the government (or your boss) tells you when to breathe, when to fart and when to get a flu shot? - I don't.
That's a step too far!
Manuel, I don't think an employer should be able to force you to get a flu shot.....I also don't think they should be able to fire you if you smoke on your own time.... or even in your own home.
But........since so many people think firing smokers is OK.....I have a hard time sympathising with people who don't want employers to do the same concerning flu shots or anything else.
As far as I am concerned, allowing employers to fire smokers set a precedent.....now people have to live with it.
How often does the Thimerasol exceed the recommended daily limit? - Can you give me figures? - I`think CDC would disagree. (In fact, they do.) Do you ever eat caned tuna? - One serving would probably approximate to 10 year' worth of flu shots. Not many people die from eating canned tuna.
Far too many people die from flu.
Already clearly stated I have never eaten Tuna and let me expand by saying any fish... I had a reaction as a child to seafood and on the advice or the pediatrician never tried it again...
This is a moot point since the mercury in fish is not the same as in Thimerosal.
Thimerosal is approximately 50% ethylmercury... however, there is currently NO "Safe" level of mercury and as a precaution it should be avoided.
Direct from the CDC
What is thimerosal?
Thimerosal is a very effective preservative that has been used in some vaccines and other products since the 1930s. Thimerosal contains approximately 49% ethylmercury. There is no convincing scientific evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site. However, in July 1999 the Public Health Service agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers agreed that thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines as a precautionary measure.
There is a Thimerosal Free flu vaccine and I asked my employer for it... I was told the company only offers multidose vials and they all contain Thimerosal.
The Thimerosal Free is single dose and more expensive.
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Which country do you live in? - There are supermarkets/pharmacies in Florida (in a place called America) offering the flu shot for free. They don't expect the people queueing up for a free shot to go and pay for a prescription. WHO and the CDC recommend flu shots for everybody over tha age of 6 months. What makes you think anybody would dare limit flu shots to 'by prescription only?'
Prescription meds can be administered by Health Care Professionals... on the other hand, if I went in to buy the vaccine... a prescription would be required... at least this is my experience for any injectable.
For those new to City-Data... I'm a third generation resident of Oakland California... never visited the fair state of Florida... have friends there and they area always inviting me to visit
Again... further reading will show "Recommendations" have caveats... in other words... not everyone should have the vaccine.
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I think you've been treated shabbily, you should not be forced to have anything and your employer doesn't appear to care about the employees.
We are in agreement
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When you get a flu shot, your body will start to make antibodies. You may feel a bit ill - but you will not get flu. - You can't; the vaccine used for injections is dead (but your body sees it as a 'real' threat and reacts. If you feel crappy after having been injected with dead viruses, imagine how you might feel had you contracted live viruses which were trying to beat your body's attempts to provide antibodies?
If you are immunised (a couple of weeks after th flu shot) then although you can pick up and spread the virus (you could pick it up off a door knob and put it on another) you're nowhere near as efficient a spreader as somebody who is infected, sneezes and scatters viruses over everybody within a yard and a half.
Flu does kill people (Some - hopefully not many) but the fewer people who are infected, the more limited is the spread of the disease.
Nothing is without risk... at least the consent forms required by my employer for the vaccine point this out...
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 11-09-2012 at 01:21 AM..
One would think in this litigeous society employers would be especially mindful of liability...
A friend forwarded this to me from their company's HR Alert...
[color="Blue"][i]Don’t make it mandatory
It’s always a good idea to encourage staffers to get vaccinated. However, making flu shots mandatory isn’t worth it. Reason: Requiring workers to get vaccinated can run afoul of laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and get you in trouble with the EEOC.
Here’s just one example: An employee may have a legitimate religious reason for not being able to get a vaccination – such as rules that forbid certain medical procedures.
If an employee truly belongs to a religion that frowns on vaccination, its the employee's responsibility to tell the employer that and be a bit specific. Example: "Mr. Employer, I belong to the Firstborn Church of Ignorant People and a major point of our religious doctrine is that we oppose all vaccination because we believe that it leads to autism and sexual promiscuity".
I can still see arguments though. The employer's reason for requiring vaccination is founded in disease prevention and in keeping his employees healthy. ALL employees are required to get the vaccination. No one specifically singled out the "Firstborn Church of Ignorant People" when they made this rule. U.S. Supreme Court cases that interpret the First Amendment "free exercise of religion clause" protect religious beliefs, they don't protect all religious practices. I can't practice human sacrifice and claim that belief is protected under the free exercise clause. As an employer, if I had a large number of employees (I don't) working in close quarters that prevention of infectious disease is of critical importance. I could claim disease prevention and vaccination is what the law calls a BFOQ or "bonafide occupational qualification".
Anyway, my point is that claiming that mandating workers get a flu shot is religious discrimination is hyperbole at best. It could possibly be so in very specific situations. Never, in a general way.
What absolutely doesn't suffice for me is the employee who wants to tell his employer "I have a personal belief against vaccination" and its religious discrimination against me to force me to get a vaccination. Unacceptable. I could claim I have a religious belief against carrying objects that are 20 lbs or greater when I work in a warehouse. Or I could run into a employee who joins a church and claims that his belief system requires him to be in prayer from 9:00 until noon everyday and he can't come to work until after 12:30 p.m.
How many people do you see dropping dead from vaccinations? How many do you see ending up in the hospital? If there are individual cases where allergy to vaccine has occurred before or is highly suspected than exempt that one person from vaccination. I will probably to my dying day be unable to understand those people who oppose vaccination with so little concrete proof it does harm and despite contrary evidence that it does great good.
I just wonder how far people are going to allow employers to go. Just what is the line in the sand with many of you? And is there an actual law against an employer crossing this line?
What absolutely doesn't suffice for me is the employee who wants to tell his employer "I have a personal belief against vaccination" and its religious discrimination against me to force me to get a vaccination. Unacceptable. I could claim I have a religious belief against carrying objects that are 20 lbs or greater when I work in a warehouse. Or I could run into a employee who joins a church and claims that his belief system requires him to be in prayer from 9:00 until noon everyday and he can't come to work until after 12:30 p.m.
One, the lifting, is a business necessity, the vaccine is not. The requirement to show up at work at a certian is also a business necessity though even that has been successfully challenged in court.
The flu shot doesn't guarantee that you won't get the flu. There are many different strains of influenza and it's a guessing game which strain will infect you. If you are vaccinated for the wrong strain guess who's going to get sick any way? Some vaccines are only 60% affective. I'm in healthcare and I took the flu shot two years in a row. One year I was sick almost every other month. I opted not to take the flu shot last year and I only had a couple of colds. Our employer doesn't make flu shots mandatory. I think they tried to but but it was met with a lot of resistance. It's my body and my choice. If I get sick I'll stay home. Who wants to be at work with the flu anyway?
I just wonder how far people are going to allow employers to go. Just what is the line in the sand with many of you? And is there an actual law against an employer crossing this line?
My business? I get to say whether my employees get vaccinated or not. They get to say whether they want to work for me or find another job.
I don't usually get this adamant about things. However, I've got to admit that anti-vaccine nuts get me worked up. Vaccines are the cheapest, most effective way to prevent infectious disease. The side effects from vaccines are few. Taking a shot is far safer than driving a car. We have 40,000 deaths per year in this country from motor vehicle accidents. Deaths from allergic reactions from all vaccines account for less than 1000 deaths per year. If that number doesn't seem small to you than remember that tens of millions of people are being vaccinated every year. Weigh that risk against preventing tens of thousands of deaths every year from diseases like red measles, diptheria, polio, and influenza and any rational person can see that the slight risk posed by vaccination is worth it several times over. The only people who should be exempted from vaccination are those who can demonstrate at least a reasonable possibility they could be allergic to a vaccine.
The whole "freedom" argument is ridiculous when it comes to vaccination. There is no such a thing as the "freedom to die of an infectious disease" (or more importantly the "freedom" to cause others to do so).
I sometimes wonder how we ever got so many irrational, uneducated people in this country.
Last edited by markg91359; 11-09-2012 at 10:28 AM..
My business? I get to say whether my employees get vaccinated or not. They get to say whether they want to work for me or find another job.
I don't usually get this adamant about things. However, I've got to admit that anti-vaccine nuts get me worked up. Vaccines are the cheapest, most effective way to prevent infectious disease. The side effects from vaccines are few. Taking a shot is far safer than driving a car. We have 40,000 deaths per year in this country from motor vehicle accidents. Deaths from allergic reactions from all vaccines account for less than 1000 deaths per year. If that number doesn't seem small to you than remember that tens of millions of people are being vaccinated every year. Weigh that risk against preventing tens of thousands of deaths every year from diseases like red measles, diptheria, polio, and influenza and any rational person can see that the slight risk posed by vaccination is worth it several times over. The only people who should be exempted from vaccination are those who can demonstrate at least a reasonable possibility they could be allergic to a vaccine.
The whole "freedom" argument is ridiculous when it comes to vaccination. There is no such a thing as the "freedom to die of an infectious disease" (or more importantly the "freedom" to cause others to do so).
I sometimes how we ever got so many irrational, uneducated people in this country.
I agree. You have a whole group of crazy, CRAZY people who want to blame vaccines on everything under the sun, especially autism and other developmental disabilities. AUTISM IS HEREDITARY. Mental disabilities are hereditary. All this has been researched and proven.
I think if employers gave more sick days, more office staff would not get sick.
our office has 3 paid sick days, guess what, when someone has a cold, they come in because they don;t want to lose the day on just a cold, but then, guess what?, everyone gets the damn cold.
i get a flu shot, I believe in them.
but if the company had more sick days, people wouldnt have to come into the office coughing and sneezing, infecting everyone.
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