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| A person is vaccinated against the flu |
Six people in Indiana have been fired from a hospital over the flu shot.
The hospital’s parent company is mandating workers get the vaccine, saying the health and safety of its patients is the top priority.
“I am not a troublemaker,” fired Oncology nurse Joyce Gingrich explains. “I feel like I’m a good nurse. And unfortunately, the hospital is losing some good nurses.”
Two other employees quit because they didn’t want the shot.
The hospital did allow some exemptions for people with allergies or religious beliefs against getting the vaccine.
This isn’t the first instance of healthcare workers’ freedoms being stripped away; whole states are now attempting to force healthcare workers to get vaccinated.
A Cincinnati-based health system reportedly fired 150 of its 10,800 employees because they would not get vaccinated against the flu.
Citing patient and staff protection, the company sent termination notices to the employees just ahead of Thanksgiving. If they agree to get a flu shot (which are offered at no cost) by December 3, the employees will get to keep their jobs.
Rhode Island passed the first-ever full mandate requiring all healthcare employees (including doctors, nurses, and even temporary workers and medical volunteers) to receive a flu vaccine. Colorado’s state health board approved a similar mandate seven-to-one this past February that would force all health organizations such as hospitals and nursing homes to prove at least 60 percent of their employees received a flu vaccination in 2012-2013; the requirement will increase to 90 percent by 2014-2015.
