Local Hospital: No Flu Vaccine, No Pay Raise

By Donna Willis~NBC4

No flu vaccine, no pay raise. That’s the mandate for employees at one local hospital.

The new rule applied to both seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines.

Some question the policy, though.

NBC 4’s Ana Jackson GOT ANSWERS on why local health officials made the vaccines mandatory.

A mandate on flu vaccines has stirred up protests.

New York health-care workers rallied at the state capitol Tuesday.

The seasonal flu shot is mandatory for all Nationwide Children’s Hospital employees.

Dr. Dennis Cunningham said it is a matter of protecting patients and providing good care.

“If there’s a bad flu outbreak and we have lots of staff who are out sick, how do we keep the hospital running,” Cunningham said.

All Children’s employees also will be required to get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available at the end of October.

Employees with medical or religious objections are exempt, and employees who refuse the treatments will lose out on pay raises or bonuses, according to a hospital memo.

“I don’t think it’s extreme. When you look at what patients want and need, they want to be cured they want to be kept safe. These are children a very vulnerable population. It is our job to keep them safe,” Cunningham said.

NBC 4 received an e-mail addressing concerns over vaccines’ mercury content.

“Multi-dose vials … there will be a trace in there. It acts as a preservative. No bacteria in there, and it’s kept sterile. But the level is so low, it wouldn’t cause disease in humans,” Cunningham said about the mercury.

NBC 4 found both the OhioHealth hospitals, such as Riverside Methodist Hospital and Grant Medical Center, and the Ohio State University medical centers offer free flu vaccines to all staff members but do not require a vaccination. Policy changes are always possible, though, officials said.

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