Mandatory flu vaccination?

Would mandatory influenza vaccination of healthcare workers be morally justifiable?

Summary:

Occupational physician Jacques Tamin believes that campaigns to improve uptake of influenza vaccine among healthcare workers should take account of current evidence and thus target only those caring for patients most vulnerable to the disease. Blanket vaccination of all healthcare workers is not morally justified.

ACCORDING to Public Health England and NHS England: ‘Every year, influenza vaccination is offered to NHS staff as a way to reduce the risk of staff contracting the virus and transmitting it to their

Jacques Tamin is an occupational physician. He is an honorary senior lecturer at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Manchester. He has a PhD in bioethics and medical jurisprudence from the University of Manchester. 

Author: Tamin J

Tags healthcare worker immunisation influenza public health

Occupational Health at Work October/November 2016 (vol. 13/3) pp29-31

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