With Vaccine Shortage, State Eases Up On Healthcare Workers

Photo by Jeff Roberson/AP

The New York State Department of Health is getting a taste of its own ultimatum medicine. With only 23% of the swine flu doses originally expected to arrive by the end of October reaching New York, the State Health Department has to choose: Uphold a regulation that all healthcare workers receive the shot (which was temporarily blocked by a State Supreme Court judge last week) or make sure those most at risk receive the shot.

The State Health Department has chosen to vaccinate those most at risk.

Claudia Hutton, a spokeswoman for the State Health Department to the New York Times, said “Since the vaccine is so scarce right now and since the virus has proved especially difficult for pregnant women and young people — there have been deaths — we felt that the best use of the scarce amount of vaccine right now is for those populations.”

Hutton added that the change of policy — which was announced late Thursday in a statement from the office of Gov. David A. Paterson — was not influenced by the litigation, “Even while the mandate was in effect, we were telling our hospital workers that if you have a choice of vaccinating patients or workers, please vaccinate patients.”

The judge's ruling is pending a hearing set for October 30.

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By Ellen T in News on October 23, 2009 10:16 AM

Comments [rss]

Dan Dickinson

“Even while the mandate was in effect, we were telling our hospital workers that if you have a choice of vaccinating patients or workers, please vaccinate patients.”

That's odd. The mandate I read said that you had to have all care givers vaccinated by November 30th, no exceptions.

teddo

I think the personal freedom thing is overblown by the media. You're forgetting health care workers are the ones who believe in vaccines. It's only people reading bad alterna press stuff about vaccine dangers that don't want vaccines.

Fyi, my wife is a doctor in NYC, and is pregnant making her "high risk" and even she can't get the vaccine at her hospital. Most of the clinics I've called, some of which serve high risk populations like elderly, do not have any supply of H1N1 vaccine. So I can't get it myself for now.

whitecastlerock

I don't know how we will survive without this...

famdoc

The state, I meant, not the city.

famdoc

The reason the requirement that healthcare workers be immunized against H1N1 flu had little to do with the late delivery/shortage of vaccine. It was primarily due to the personal freedom issues involved. I don't think the city was prepared to fight based upon the weak arguments in favor of compelling individuals to receive a vaccine.

BTW, seasonal influenza vaccine, which was already in short supply, is virtually unavailable at most NYC physician offices and clinics. The nasal vaccine (Flumist) is available in some places, but that provides little consolation to most older individuals (the Flumist can only be given to healthy individuals 49 years of age and younger) and those with asthma, diabetes, HIV and other chronic conditions.