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RAPID RESPONSE: GW Researchers Examine the Debate Surrounding Mandatory Flu Vaccines for Health Care Workers

WASHINGTON – Requiring health care workers to be vaccinated against influenza is one strategy for reducing its spread in health care settings. Researchers at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services have released a report that reviews the arguments for and against such mandates, given the risks of influenza in health care settings, the availability of safe and effective vaccines to reduce that risk, and the inadequate health care worker compliance with immunization recommendations (fewer than 50% comply).

In August, New York became the first state to require all health care workers to have seasonal flu and H1N1 flu vaccines as a condition of employment. While most people agree more workers should be vaccinated, a compulsory regulation highlights a pair of competing interests — protecting patient health, and safeguarding the rights of individuals to make their own medical choices. Many health care workers opposed the New York measure and three separate lawsuits were filed to challenge it. New York suspended its mandate in mid-October, citing shortages of both vaccines, but the issue is likely to surface again as public health officials seek to curb the spread of the disease.

Click here to see the GW/SPHHS report -- “Should Influenza Vaccines Be Mandatory for Health Care Workers?” It can also be downloaded at: http://www.gwumc.edu/sphhs/about/rapidresponse/index.cfm

For more information influenza vaccine mandates, contact:

Alexandra Stewart, JD
Assistant Research Professor, Department of Health Policy
School of Public Health and Health Services
The George Washington University
2021 K Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 994-4141
Email: stewarta@gwu.edu

About the Rapid Health Policy Response Project

The Rapid Health Policy Response Project of the School of Public Health and Health Services at The George Washington University presents data and other background information on breaking public health stories. The goal is to educate the public, policymakers, legislators, health care providers, the media and others in order to promote informed decision making.

About The George Washington University Medical Center

The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center that has consistently provided high-quality medical care in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, since 1824. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11^th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation’s capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc.; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information on GWUMC, visit www.gwumc.edu.