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For Some Medical Workers, a Flu Shot Or Possible Job Loss

theodp writes "Want to work at Winthrop Hospital? Roll up your sleeve, and we'll talk. TIME reports that every employee at the Long Island hospital — from doctors and nurses who care for patients to the administrative, housekeeping and food-service personnel — must be vaccinated against both seasonal and H1N1 flu or face termination. The mandate comes from the health department of New York, the first state to require all health-care workers to be vaccinated against influenza. Meanwhile, two-thirds of parents say they'll avoid flu shots for their little ones like, well, the flu. So who should you believe — Dr. Bill Frist or 'Dr.' Bill Maher? Before you decide, perhaps a consultation with Dr. Google is in order."

10 of 541 comments (clear)

  1. Captain Obvious by Fryth · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    If everyone had the flu shot, there would be no more flu.

    If more people have the flu shot, there will be less flu than there is now.

  2. Re:Bill Maher is funny, but an idiot in this matte by Jeffrey+Baker · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    But you think people should pay attention to Bill Frist, noted video diagnostic specialist and cat torturer, the guy who thought it would be OK to interfere with the Terry Shiavo case without 1) examining the patient or 2) even being a neurologist? In my view anybody who listens to either of these idiots on matters of medicine is a fool.

  3. Re:Dumbass by tomhudson · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Do your research - repeated injections of foreign proteins (which is what flu shots are) are implicated in several auto-immune diseases, both in animals and humans.

    Some vaccines make sense. A vaccine for a rapidly-mutating, fragile/unstable virus like the flu just doesn't make sense when we have other methods that would improve health, not just against flu, but against the common cold and other problems.

    Foremost - teach kids (and adults) to stop picking their noses and either eating it or wiping it somewhere, and to wash their hands.

    You people stopped at the red light, digging for nose gold, then looking ahead while your finger migrates to your mouth seemingly of its' own accord - I hope your airbag goes off and shoves your finger through your nasal septum and out your eyeball - from the inside. You're adults - start acting like adults.

  4. Re:Why is it you can't sue. by iive · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    http://www.prisonplanet.com/squalene-the-swine-flu-vaccine%E2%80%99s-dirty-little-secret-exposed.html
    It's nice read.
    In short, to make vaccine cheaper, they use additative that is very likely the cause of autoimmune diseases know as Gulf War Syndrome.
    Vaccines have always been trade-offs, however here we have the following decision: 25% to get GWS if vaccinated or 0.1% of dying from Swine Flu if infected.

  5. Re:Dumbass by jmitchel!jmitchel.co · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Do your research

    No - you made the random claim, you convince me.

    Foremost - teach kids (and adults) to stop picking their noses and either eating it or wiping it somewhere, and to wash their hands.

    Again with the nose picking. I think you are suffering from a neurosis.

    You people stopped at the red light, digging for nose gold, then looking ahead while your finger migrates to your mouth seemingly of its' own accord - I hope your airbag goes off and shoves your finger through your nasal septum and out your eyeball - from the inside. You're adults - start acting like adults.

    I'd see a therapist about your unhealthy obsession with other people picking their noses. It isn't healthy.

  6. Re:Captain TwatObvious by RedSteve · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I'm glad to know your mom went through medical school and saw this influence first-hand and not just through drug rep lunches at the office.

    Oh wait, she didn't? Sorry. My bad.

  7. Re:What you don't know by jmitchel!jmitchel.co · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Clearly you didn't read the part where I said that I don't accept the citation of bullshit blogs as evidence. You appear to subscribe to the theory that if it's written on the Internet it must be true. Moron.

  8. Re:Hmmmm by tomhudson · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    Don't be lazy - look through the thread - I've provided the citations:
    1. links to the Lancet on vaccine-induced auto-immune diseases
    2. Links to a study showing that people who have received previous flu vaccines are twice as likely to contracth H1N1
    3. Links to show who the at-risk groups are - the fat slobs, those between 6 months and 5 years, pregnant women and the chronically ill, and how everyone else doesn't need to do more than practice normal hygeine
    4. Links to show that those born before 1957 have a naturally-acquired immunity to H1N1 that is superior to actual exposure to the H1N1 virus, due to their being exposed to a related strain back in the '50s - which explains why older people aren't at risk
    5. Links to the WHO admitting that polio in Nigeria is currently being caused by a mutated polio vaccine - but here, since I still have a link to my journal open in another tab, I'll save you the effort of scrolling

    The vaccine is pretty much useless for those in the 50+ group - they won't get H1N1 unless they're fat obese slobs, or otherwise chronically ill. So why should they bother?

    Most of the rest of the population is at low risk of catching the disease, and even lower risk of dying. So why bother with a vaccine that gives limited protection - especially in light of the very strong possibiity that the disease will mutate to a much less virulent strain (and one that the vaccine won't provide much protection against, since it IS yet another mutation) in November? Especially since the same precautions that help against other flus and viruses (basic hygiene, not hanging around the sick, etc) will work. Or do you believe that this comparatively weak flu virus is actually somehow special in its' ability to infect people through some supernatural force?

    And yes, had washing will help, because it'll also help you keep rhinovirus and other buggies at bay.

  9. It's about staffing by pcolaman · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    When it comes down to it, being married to a medical technologist, I see this as coming down to staffing. I know in her lab, if two people call in they are buried in work, and if three people call in they are super fucked. Granted, she works nights, and staffing in the day time is somewhat better, but with hospitals making cutbacks due to the economy and the fact that they are about to get bent over and reamed by Obamacare (her hospital has already cut a dozen doctors and a handful of nurses and techs in anticipation of the need to give out more medical care with less money coming in), hospitals are going to do anything they can to try and keep as many people working without getting sick as possible, and this includes immunizations for H1N1.

  10. Re:And the big deal is??? by evilviper · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Incorrect.

    No. In fact NOTHING you've said contradicts my statement IN ANY WAY.

    With a sufficient number of vaccinated individuals in a population, an effect call heard immunity comes into play. This protects people who cannot get the vaccine (people allergic to it, etc.) or who the vaccine does not work on.

    This is bull. There are a MINUSCULE number of people in the world which would chose to get vaccinated, but CAN'T for various reasons. So for the sake of the 0.01% of the population, you believe we should compel EVERYONE ELSE to get vaccinated, and thereby CAUSE many MORE health issues? It's idiotic.

    There has been a 4 year study done in Ontario on this with respect to seasonal flu vaccines and found favorable results.

    That article is missing the huge disclaimer on that study: "The authors point out that one of the major drawbacks of the study was random variation which limits the abilities of small vaccine trials to assess the real relationship between vaccination and influenza."

    I find most interesting this combination of quotes:

    "the researchers found that the mortality decreases in Ontario compared with the other provinces were statistically significant only in those aged 85 or older." http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/general/news/oct2908ontario.html
    &
    "The results also indicated that increasing immunization rates were not as clearly associated with a reduction in mortality and health care need in older people, especially older than 75 years, in comparison with younger people." http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/126891.php

    And TWO of the 3 links I posted include studies in Alberta and Ontario, explaining why the vaccine is scarcely effective, and why many flu studies greatly exaggerate results...

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