ACSH has long maintained that mandatory flu vaccines for health care workers is one of the best ways to reduce the toll of seasonal influenza, which kills between 3,000 and 50,000 Americans every year. Other groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians have also endorsed this policy.
Rhode Island has become the first state to listen. Last week the state Department of Health adopted new regulations requiring flu shots for all workers, students, trainees and volunteers who have direct contact with patients at health care facilities. Workers who refuse to get a shot and who are not medically exempt will be required to wear a surgical face mask at times when the flu is widespread, the regulations state.
"Those who care for and interact with patients in a healthcare setting have a duty to protect the health and safety of those for whom they care," says Dr. Michael Fine, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health. "A flu shot for all those who interact with patients as part of their employment or volunteer efforts at a health care facility is the best way to prevent the spread of influenza to some of our state's most vulnerable populations."
We at ACSH couldn t agree more. As our president, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, said in September: If people have personal objections to getting vaccinated, that s OK. They just shouldn t be working in a hospital or clinic setting with direct patient contact. Though they have every right to expose themselves, and even their family members, to preventable illness, they do not have the right to expose the vulnerable patients with whom they come in contact.