(Translated) LaRaza
2/5/2013
NEW YORK - The syndicated 1199 SEIU, which represents more than 400,000 health care workers in the United States and about 100,000 in New York (30% Hispanic), yesterday urged its members to get a flu shot, “to protect patients themselves and their families. ”
In the press conference at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, organized by Partnership for Quality Care (PQC), President and CEO of the hospital, Steven Safyer, revealed that both among people who work with patients and the public in general, There are myths that lead them to not get vaccinated , “and among them are to believe that the vaccine is ineffective or causes damage, and as a physician I can assure you this is not true.”
“The flu vaccine provides protection for health care providers and the community, and it is our responsibility to ensure that more people get vaccinated,” said Safyer.
According to the most recent federal data, about 63% of health care workers in the United States were vaccinated against the flu in November. However, the government wants to cover 90% of health workers in 2020.
One worker at Montefiore who became convinced of the need for vaccination was Kevin Carlyle, 52, who works in the hospital moving patients.
“I’ve waited until now, because I have heard that there are people who get sick from the flu when they get the vaccine, but I decided because I work with patients in the hospital and not good me sick because it could cause infections,” said Carlyle
Nirav R. Shah, Commissioner of the Department of Health of the State of New York, said many people are not vaccinated because they believe that the flu is a minor inconvenience, and reminded New Yorkers that the disease causes about 23,000 deaths in the United States each year.
“In the state of New York there have been more than 20,000 cases of flu, one of the worst seasons we’ve had, prompting Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency care,” said Shah.
George Gresham, president of 1199 SEIU and PQC member, urged health workers to set an example and get the vaccine, “because otherwise it would send a negative message.”
Gresham’s call comes at a time when U.S. hospitals taking increasingly aggressive actions against employees who are not vaccinated against the flu , with some workers who are fired for his refusal, as reported by AP.
“Where does it say that I’m not a patient if I’m a nurse” asked Carrie Calhoun, a critical care nurse in the suburbs of Chicago, who was fired last month after he refused to get a flu shot.
Most doctors and nurses are vaccinated against influenza. But in the past two months, at least 15 nurses and other hospital staff members in four states have been fired for refusing to immunize, and several others have resigned, according to the affected workers, hospital authorities and published reports .
A study by CDC researchers found that in 2011, more than 400 U.S. hospitals requiring flu shots for hospital employees and 29 dismissed employees unvaccinated.
