Nearly half of healthcare workers in California did not receive flu shots

Interesting article. I believe that the actual number of medical staff who don't take the vaccine is much higher - but a large percentage of hospitals didn't report their vaccination statistics - perhaps they were embarrassed by how low it was? And the article indicates that these people are unethical and placing others at risk - and interestingly, states that 'hospital acquired' flu is somehow more dangerous than flu that is acquired in the community. One has to wonder if that's because hospital acquired flu is then subjected to aggressive medical treatments rather than the tried and tested fluids, bed rest supplementation and, perhaps, a nice big bowl of home made chicken soup (it worked for my grandparents and my parents and it works for my children and me :-)

Nearly half of healthcare workers in California hospitals did not receive flu shots - latimes.com

Here is my response on this page:

Instead of trying to blame the 'ethics' of hospital workers who refuse flu shots, we should be asking them why they aren't taking these vaccines. And, perhaps more importantly, why when they are not getting vaccinated themselves, they are still pushing others to do what they won't.

Recent medical surveys show that on average - only between 25 and 30% of all hospital doctors and nurses agree to receive the flu vaccine. Their reasons are:

1- A feeling that flu is not really a dangerous disease.

2- A belief that the vaccine is ineffective.

3- Concern that the vaccine is not properly tested and may not be safe.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander and in this case, the goose (the medical staff) have got the right idea.

The Cochrane Collaboration, the largest medical database in the English language, did a 40-year retrospective study on the safety and effectiveness of flu vaccines. They found that in children under 2, the vaccine is completely ineffective. In healthy adults, it does nothing to reduce the length or severity of disease. And in the elderly, those most at risk from flu, it is almost completely ineffective.

Perhaps your article should be asking - why did that 50% of doctors who took a flu shot do so? Maybe they need to be better informed?

Meryl Dorey

Australian Vaccination Network

www.avn.org.au