Why do so many health care workers say “No” to flu shots?

What does it mean when health care workers refuse to get a flu shot?

For one thing, it means embarrassment for the World Health Organization and the CDC. Those and other Big Med institutions strongly recommend flu shots for all health care workers.

But according to a new report in the British Medical Journal, less than 65 percent of U.S. health care workers get the flu vaccine.

In the UK, the rate is even lower. In fact, it’s laughable. Only about one-third of all health care workers roll up their sleeves and get “the jab,” as they call it.

Here’s another laugh: The BMJ headline reads: “Influenza vaccination in healthcare professionals.” And the subhead reads (as if the headline writer is muttering, disgusted, under his breath): “Should be mandatory.”

Mandatory! Sure, that’s it. Force them!

These are professionals who spend all their working days around sick patients. What’s more, they could get a flu shot at work with less effort than it takes to pour a cup of coffee. And it would cost them nothing.

So what does it mean when these people refuse to get a flu shot?

It means they don’t believe the shot is genuine. If they thought it would actually help at all, they would get it.

But they don’t. They’re on the front lines of the flu battle every year. They know the shot is a sham, so they just say no.

Good call.

Sources:
“Influenza vaccination in healthcare professionals” British Medical Journal, 3/28/12, bmj.com