Should COVID shots be mandatory for Health Care Workers?

Post Reply New Topic

A substantial proportion of frontline healthcare workers are refusing to accept the COVID vaccine. This poses an unacceptable risk to public health. They should take the jab or lose their job. Ever since the coronavirus crept onto the world stage, we have been suffering from two simultaneous pandemics: One from the virus and another from mis- and disinformation. The power of the latter has now manifested as an inability to get healthcare workers vaccinated. Unbelievably, there is evidence that a substantial proportion of healthcare providers’ staffs are not getting vaccinated. Cal Matters reports, "Between 20% and 40% of frontline workers in Los Angeles County and up to 50% in Riverside County have turned down the vaccine." This will create at least four knock-on effects in the healthcare system.

First, and most importantly, a failure to vaccinate frontline workers means that patients will be putting themselves at risk simply by showing up to the clinic or hospital. A large percentage of COVID cases are asymptomatic, which means that the virus can be spread from workers who are unknowingly infected to other staff members or patients.

Second, unvaccinated healthcare workers will exacerbate a labor shortage. Workers who get sick or are quarantined can't provide medical assistance to the public during the time of year (flu season + COVID) in which it's needed the most. Healthcare providers may choose to redeploy workers who refuse vaccines to other departments, but the effect is the same: There are fewer workers available to treat patients.

Third, frontline workers are first in line to receive the COVID vaccine. Refusal means that precious vaccine supplies are sitting unused when millions of other people would be glad to receive them.

Finally, vaccine refusal sends a pretty rotten message: Healthcare workers don't trust the healthcare system. This can only serve to deplete public confidence at a time when it needs to be boosted.

Take the Jab or Lose Your Job

There is a solution to this: Make the COVID vaccine mandatory for all frontline healthcare workers. Those who refuse can find another job.

The law is very much on the side of employers in this matter. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says that employers can mandate COVID vaccines. For the exceedingly small number of employees with a valid reason (e.g., vaccine allergy, sincerely held religious belief, or a disability that makes vaccination difficult), an employer must attempt to provide a "reasonable accommodation." Working from home is not an option for many of these workers, and even if it was, it is likely that they are placing increased risk upon their co-workers, who (given the safety of vaccination) would be placed disproportionately in riskier situations.

Of course, there is precedent for a policy like this. Schools require kids to be vaccinated, otherwise they're not allowed to attend class. To end the pandemic, we may need to impose the same policy on workers in healthcare facilities.

Source: A Solution To COVID Vaccine Refusal: Take The Jab Or Lose Your Job

Can’t help but feel strongly pro-vaccine for health workers for obvious reasons. Those who have compromised systems, though incredibly valuable in the field, do present an issue though. Good to learn today that there will be alternative options for the vaccine, in the form of pill, patch and nasal spray shortly.


“*Britain was handed a major boost by the news the Novavax jab has proved effective
*A medical chief said future vaccines could come in pill, patch, and nasal spray form
*It was warned pubs and restaurants won't reopen until May”

Source:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13885535/eu-covid-vaccine-export-ban-jabs-uk/

It's absurd, to me, for health care workers to refuse the vaccine.

Many of them seem to refuse it because of some conspiracy theory---like a chip (for surveillance) is being inserted into their bodies along with the vaccine; or, that the "Mark of the Beast" is being inserted with the vaccine.

Agreed. There have been quite a few studies on the personality of those most susceptible to Conspiracy Theories...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180925075108.htm

I read an article in this mornings paper. It read:

A little more than a third of nursing home workers have been getting COVID-19 vaccines when the shots are first offered, U.S. health officials said Monday.

The CDC looked at more than 11,000 nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities that had at least one vaccination clinic between the middle of December and the middle of January. The researchers found that while 78% of the residents got at least one shot, only 37.5% of staff members did.

I'm kind of torn on this issue. I tend to strongly support individual rights & generally tend to support individuals being allowed to make their own choices & decisions regarding their own personal health & safety. As I posted in another thread recently, (I edited this a tad)~ I generally support vaccines. I do NOT believe that they cause autism or that parents should have the rite to endanger their children's health on the grounds of religious or moral reasons, & I also believe that vaccines should be completely free for the public. However I have serious concerns about the Covid vaccines. They were being rushed out by politicians with NO scientific or medical backgrounds(What medical or scientific degrees did Mike Pence go to college for that qualify him to head the CDC?). The politicians were trying to score major political points & they also had very close ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Plus those same politicians have been intentionally spreading misinformation about this virus from the very beginning & even publicly denied the virus was a threat while telling their inner-circle otherwise. I would have a lot more confidence in the Covid vaccines if the people in charge of things would of believed & supported science & would of actually cared about protecting public health.

That said, this virus is a major problem & threat to public health. It is completely understandable why there is such a high demand for a vaccine to stop &/or prevent it. However I am worried about snake-oil salesmen using this pandemic as an opportunity to exploit the publics fear. The flue vaccines have been around for decades(seems that way anyway) & every year a new one is released but the new vaccine is still based off of the science of the previous 1s. The Covid virus is new & the vaccine was developed very fast. We still do not have a vaccine for the common cold & colds have been around throughout history. Yet by the grace of god science was somehow able to develop, thoroughly test for short & long-term side-effects, & release the Covid vaccine when Covid was not even around two years ago

I'm wondering why so many healthcare workers are not wanting to get the Covid vaccine Health care workers are supposed to support science. College classes that provide medical degrees are focused on teaching medical science. I'm wondering if the health care workers don't want to receive the Covid vaccines because of the concerns I mentioned. Perhaps they notice a fishy smell & want to see how others are affected later on before determining if the vaccines really are as safe & effective as they are hyped to be. Less than a year is not enough time to know about potential long-term effectiveness & potential long-term side-effects of anything. Look at how many medications & other medical stuff get approved by the FDA for various things & then get recalled a few years later & have class-action lawsuits against them. Commercials for class-action medical lawsuits are advertised regularly on TV.

I am worried about the precedent that will be set by requiring health care workers to receive this vaccine. Front-line workers in general may then be required to receive the vaccine & then anyone who has jobs that sometimes involve in-person interaction with the public. Then most all employers in general will require all their employees to receive the vaccine in order to protect the employers from liability. Where does the line get drawn between protecting the public health & protecting individual rights & freedoms Where will this snowball effect stop?