By Lisa Spitz
Friday, October 23, 2009 at 7:01 p.m.
Read more: Local, State, Health, Swine Flu
It was controversial from the start. It brought a protest to Albany last month. As part of a mandate, health care workers in the state had to get the H1N1 vaccine by the end of November or risk losing their jobs.
"Our position, 1199's position all along, has been that we've encouraged people to get the vaccine but we don't think it should be a mandatory condition of employment," says Al Davidoff, Vice President of Local 1199, a union that represents health care workers.
Davidoff is happy state health officials have suspended a ruling that would force health care workers in the state to get the swine flu vaccine. They say the reversal is because the vaccine is in short supply. Davidoff says, "This rescinding by the state is a good thing and we've been saying all along they should take more time to think it through more carefully and we don't want to see health care workers lose their jobs over this when they have a strong personal opinion."
According to Governor Paterson, New York State is only expected to receive about 23 percent of its anticipated vaccine supply by the end of the month.
When the governor was asked: When the state gets more of the H1N1 vaccine, does he think health care workers should be once again mandated to get it? The governor responded, "Well, I think health care workers are service people and part of the protocol of a health care worker is that you don't want to put anyone in the position of being further infected," Governor Paterson said. "But I think for health care workers to face penalties or even job loss in this difficult health care emergency crisis. I think was a little over the top."
Some health care workers have specific reasons they don't want the vaccine.
"People have a range of personal reasons, fear about the safety of the vaccine, the principal of it, a lack of confidence that it would make a difference," Davidoff says. "And some people have religious issues with it."
Davidoff hopes that what happens next is that the state takes steps to educate people about the vaccine, but doesn't require it.
