Nurses union fighting flu-shot requirement

By Warren King
Seattle Times medical reporter

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The Washington State Nurses Association is protesting a requirement by Virginia Mason Medical Center that nurses, along with other staff members, be immunized against influenza this year or be fired.

Association officials said the new policy, outlined in a memo circulated yesterday, takes away individuals' right to decide about their own health care and violates labor law because it was dictated without bargaining with the nurses association. The WSNA represents the more than 600 nurses at the Seattle hospital.

"Personally, I would urge everyone to get flu shots. ... But this is not the Army," said Barbara Frye, director of labor relations for the association. Flu shots also sometimes cause adverse reactions, she said.

Frye said she had not heard of any other hospital in the state requiring the shots.

A hospital official said there has been much effort to encourage voluntary vaccinations, but the hospital has achieved only a 55 percent immunization rate among the 5,000 staff members, including nurses. The vaccinations are free for staff members.

"The message here is that we think flu shots will save lives and that's what we're interested in doing," said Dr. Robert Rakita, head of infectious diseases at Virginia Mason.

Other hospital officials insisted that the measure is legal. They also pointed out that those who don't want a shot can take an anti-viral flu medication at their own expense and meet the policy's requirement. Those who have medical or religious reasons for not getting the vaccination will be furnished the medication, the hospital said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long recommended that all health-care workers receive flu shots because many patients have suppressed immune systems and are more vulnerable to severe complications, such as a fatal case of pneumonia. Nationally, less than 40 percent of health workers are immunized, the agency says.

Dr. Jeff Duchin, director of communicable-disease control for Public Health — Seattle & King County, said the shots are not mandatory for health-department workers with patient contact but are strongly encouraged. He said he did not know whether other hospitals had required flu immunizations.

"I think if someone elected not to be immunized, they would have an obligation to explain that to patients and their colleagues. That would be fair," he said.
 
Rakita said the new policy is not so unusual. That's because most hospitals, including Virginia Mason, require new employees to be immune to certain diseases — including measles, chicken pox and, for some employees, hepatitis B — either through vaccinations or by having had the illness, he said.

Association officials say they will file an unfair-labor-practices complaint or grievances if the issue is not negotiated.

Warren King: 206-464-2247 or wking@seattletimes.com