public health – Ethics and Policy

A call for increased use of seasonal influenza vaccine in healthcare workers

As we are now in the midst of influenza season and there have been an impressive number of patients with influenza on our pulmonary service, I thought I would take a minute to discuss mandatory influenza vaccine for health care workers. According to the Immunization Action Coalition, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American AcademyContinueContinue reading “A call for increased use of seasonal influenza vaccine in healthcare workers”

Public health needs to outweigh autonomy when it comes to vaccination

In the decade before 1963 when a vaccine became available, nearly all children got measles by the time they were 15 years of age. It is estimated 3 to 4 million people in the United States were infected each year. Also each year an estimated 400 to 500 people died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 4,000ContinueContinue reading “Public health needs to outweigh autonomy when it comes to vaccination”