Healthcare Workers Prepare: Should H1N1 Vaccine Be Required?

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Columbus Division of Fire will hold the first of three clinics for its 1,510 members on Wednesday.

Columbus Public Health will also start to vaccinate workers Wednesday.

First responders, nurses, doctors and all others on the front-line in our emergency rooms and hospitals are the first group to get vaccinated. However, very few believe it should be mandatory.

Norwich Township Firefighter Mike Armstrong said that all 86 emergency responders at the facility will receive the vaccine. He added, the risks are too great if they don’t.

“I have small children at home I don’t want to bring anything from work that could make them sick,“ Armstrong said.

Nationwide, many hospitals and clinics have issued mandatory vaccinations for workers. Several nursing associations say the policies violate their rights.

The Ohio Nurses Association has been busy recently, answering calls from members who are seeking guidance.

Chief Executive Officer Gingy Harshey-Meade said the only vaccine mandates at this time are at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine.

“We get a lot of calls saying, ‘Do I have to take this?‘ A lot of people don’t object to having it done. They just don’t want to be told they have to,“ Harshey-Meade said.

She said healthcare workers belonging to collective bargaining units, such as the one at The Ohio State University Medical Center, must abide by the mandate as part of their union contract with the hospital.

Exceptions only exist for health or religious reasons.

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