Why do so many health workers say they’ll pass on the H1N1 vaccine?

Big Brother is Vaccinating

My friend, Claudia, sounded frantic.

She called to tell me she’d just heard about the FDA approval of the H1N1 vaccine. The approval had her worried that the virus was worse than she thought. She was mostly concerned about her young son. Should she get him vaccinated, as recommended by the CDC?

Of course, she’ll have to make that decision on her own. But the FDA approval? Absolutely no shock there. If the agency hadn’t approved the vaccine, THAT would have been truly shocking.

So…if the FDA says the vaccine is okay, and the CDC recommends it, why are so many health care workers planning to just say no?

Smarter than vaccines

“Just don’t try giving me the swine flu vaccine.”

That quote is from Dr. John Crippen, a general practitioner who writes about health issues for the UK newspaper The Guardian.

In a recent column, he added: “On the facts available to date, I will not be having it. Nor will my family. I will not be the only doctor taking this view.”

He’s got that right. The British Medical Journal reports that in a recent survey of Hong Kong health care workers, about half said they would refuse the H1N1 vaccine. They offered two reasons: 1) doubts about efficacy, and 2) concern about side effects.

A UK poll produced similar results and we’ve heard the same report about U.S. health care workers. But it’s not surprising at all. Every year, a large percentage of these workers turn down the seasonal flu shot, even when it’s free and available with the greatest of ease in their workplace.

But why would they pass up a chance to avoid the big bad swine flu? After all, these professionals are not mainstream medical skeptics – they ARE the medical mainstream.

Dr. Crippen: “I did trust the government when it introduced an emergency vaccination programme for smallpox. But smallpox was a deadly disease and the vaccination was tried, tested and proven. The swine flu immunisation is being rushed out. It is of uncertain efficacy. It is to be given to prevent a disease which, as yet, is mild…if the virus mutates to a more virulent form, the immunisation may in any case not work.”

A similar comment appeared in an MSNBC report – this from an anonymous nurse, posted on nurse.com: “I’m not rolling up my sleeve for anyone. It’s my opinion that flu vaccines are hit and miss at best, and by the time the virus mutates its way into the population, the original vaccine is kaput. Viruses are smarter than vaccines.”

In case of emergency…

As adamant as Dr. Crippen and “anonymous nurse” are, they might be blindsided by this H1N1 vaccine detail: Choice might not be part of the equation.

This past August, the New York State Health Department issued an emergency order that makes the H1N1 vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine MANDATORY for thousands of state health workers.

Other health institutions are following suit.

Last month, Loyola University Health System in Chicago informed more than 7,800 employees that a 2009 seasonal flu vaccination is a condition of employment. Those who opt out will also opt out of their jobs. Period. Loyola officials are also expected to make the H1N1 vaccine mandatory when it becomes available this month.

This overreaction is way out of bounds. As Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center points out in the MSNBC article, health authorities are treating the H1N1 virus as a public health emergency even though there’s no evidence that it’s going to be more virulent than the seasonal flu.

I just hope the CDC isn’t getting any big ideas about overselling the seasonal flu shot next year.

Sources:
“Dr. Crippen: Just Don’t Try Giving Me the Swine Flu Vaccine” Dr. John Crippen, The Guardian, 9/8/09, guardian.co.uk
“C’mon Health Workers, Get Your Swine Flu Shots” JoNel Aleccia, MSNBC, 8/28/09, msnbc.msn.com