Dangers of VaccinesWhat are the Dangers of Vaccines? One of the greatest indicators of vaccine safety is the willingness of healthcare workers to take the swine flu vaccine – themselves. How do nurses and doctors around the world feel?
Photo courtesy of ninjapoodles EnglandIn England, a survey of 1500 nurses by Nursing Times, revealed that almost 1/3 of the nurses surveyed would not agree to getting the swine flu vaccination.
So, why did so many nurses feel that they didn't want a swine flu vaccination? Here are some of the reasons given by those who will refuse to get the shot:
Frontline nurses – working in primary care settings as well as acute settings – can expect to be offered vaccination in October, 2009--subject to the granting of licences by the European Medicines Agency. Many nurses resent having to decide between their careers and the risks associated with an unknown and unproven vaccine. Want to know more about your legal rights to refuse a vaccine? Attorney Alan Phillips, experienced at vaccine refusals, has written an ebook, Vaccine Legal Exemptions to help you. Click Here
Congressman Ron Paul is a physician. Let's listen to what he said on the subject:
Please press the "Play Button" (left) in the player controlsinstead of the arrow on the screen. In New York, a regulation that would mandate swine flu vaccinations for all hospital workers is moving through the regulatory process and is expected to be in place for this fall’s influenza season. The mandate includes “. . . all persons employed or affiliated with a health-care facility, whether paid or unpaid, including but not limited to employees, members of the medical staff, contract staff, students, and volunteers, who either have direct contact with patients or whose activities are such that if they were infected with influenza, they could potentially expose patients, or others who have direct contact with patients, to influenza.” New York nurses are formally opposing the regulation for a number of reasons, including questions about the safety of the new vaccines. Hong Kong Health Care ProfessionalsIn the largest study of its kind, over 8,500 doctors, nurses, and related health professionals in Hong Kong gave similar results.Reported in Medical News, the study reported that approximately 50% of healthcare workers (nurses, doctors and related healthcare professionals) say they will not be vaccinated against swine flu because of fears of side effects and doubts about the vaccine's effectiveness. The most frequent reasons for saying they would be vaccinated were:
Vaccine Manufacturers
Perhaps the greatest indicator of safety is whether the vaccine manufacturers--the owners of the companies and their employees—will be getting the swine flu shots. Vaccine makers know that there have been swine flu deaths and cases of guillain barre syndrome (caused by swine flu vaccine) in the past. |
