Hospitals, unions face off over mandatory flu vaccinations

The temperature is rising in the standoff between hospitals and healthcare workers who are fighting against annual influenza vaccination requirements, HealthLeaders Media reports. A lawsuit was filed in Suffolk Superior Court September 22 by the Massachusetts Nurses Association against Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital; the suit seeks to block a proposed policy that would require nurses to get flu shots if they want to keep their jobs.

States determine whether to address mandatory vaccination rules; eight states (California, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee) have laws that require healthcare facilities to offer flu shots but give staff the right to decline vaccination. Alabama, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island require annual vaccination of all healthcare workers.

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