Tellwut Online Survey Finds That 44% Believe Flu Shots Should Not Be Mandatory for Health Care Workers

(PRWEB) January 29, 2014 A Tellwut online survey of over 2,000 respondents finds that 44% feel that flu shots for health care workers should not be mandatory and 40% believe they should be mandatory depending on the facility worked. These results were from a group of Tellwut's online panelists of which only 33% had had the flu shot this season. The case of the pregnant nurse being fired in Pennsylvania for refusing to get a flu shot has raised the prickly issue of whether or not flu shots should be mandatory for health care works. 44% of 2,000 respondents of an online survey posted on Tellwut felt that the health care worker should have the right to decide. 16% felt that the health care worker should be vaccinated no matter what the circumstances while 24% felt that it depended on the type of facility that the health care worker was employed. 16% were undecided on the issue. Though states like New York and provinces such as British Columbia have tried to enforce a flu shot mandate for their health care workers; unions are successfully fighting for workers’ rights, with some compromising on the requirement of a mask to be worn for workers who do not receive the flu shot. Vaccination rates in hospitals and nursing homes are surprisingly low, ranging from 30 to 60% as per Arthur L. Caplan, PhD of Medscape, November 13, 2013. With such low uptake of the flu shot by health care workers who are highly exposed to the flu, it’s no wonder that another survey on Tellwut found that only 33% of respondents get the flu shot. This percentage has remained consistent over the 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 season. Though surveys at Tellwut found that over 55% have had flu shots over time, 33% seem to go for the shot on an annual basis. Linda Caroll from Today.com reported on December 10, 2013 that 45% of people believed the misconception that you can get the flu from the flu shot. In another Tellwut online survey asking people for their actual experience with the flu shot, 26% claimed to have gotten the flu right after a flu shot and 18% got the flu even though they had the shot, though most comments supported the fact that getting the flu from the flu shot was a misconception and that the shot does not cover you from all strains of the flu. With 44% believing that the flu shot should not be mandatory for health care workers and only 33% getting the flu shot on an annual basis, it is unlikely that we will see legislative mandates for the flu shot happening nationwide. About Tellwut® Tellwut is a North American online community of individuals dedicated to expressing their opinions through online surveys based upon a wide variety of topics in exchange for rewards and the Tellwut community experience. The Tellwut community and proprietary online survey and reward software application provide a platform for organizations to send surveys to their stakeholders or to crowdsource and conduct online market research through the use of the Tellwut survey platform and the Tellwut Community; thus allowing businesses a clearer understanding and insight into their products or services, customer sentiment and potential business opportunities.