Monday, February 1, 2010

Vaccination Coercion: We don't have the data to show it's valuable, but some would force vaccinations nonetheless

Here's a big yawn from the Infectious Disease News: Mandatory policy increased influenza vaccine uptake among Health Care Workers.

The article claims that the program's "success" was supported by "consistent communication emphasizing patient safety and quality of care, coordinated campaigns, leadership support and medical director support to talk with any employee with concerns about the vaccine, on request.”

Hello? The "success" was not thought due to potentially losing your job? Even pregnancy was not an accepted contraindication to vaccination, unless a doctor gave you an exemption. And the Human Resources department, not physicians, was used to review exemption requests and act on them positively or negatively (by firing the employee). Fifty-one requests for exemptions were not granted. Since when does Human Resources come between employees and their medical care? I hope this process gets litigated.

Remember the poem by Martin Niemoller?
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out.
A human body that has not received its yearly flu booster and all other vaccines can be seen as an untapped revenue source. Remember: first they came for the schoolkids, then they came for the healthcare workers...

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