Monthly Archives: February 2015

Do vaccine mandates or liability violate informed consent?

“Several people have asked me whether having school mandates is in tension with the idea of informed consent. The answer is no. While school mandates have some effect on parental autonomy, the doctrine of informed consent should not be conflated with autonomy.

For a somewhat different reason, imposing sanctions on those who do not vaccinate is also not a violation of informed consent.”

http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/vaccine-informed-consent-mandates-liability/

 

And: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/10/1363603/-Vaccine-Informed-Consent-Mandates-and-Liability

Influenza Mandates and Health Care Workers:


First Do No Harm: Protecting Patients Through Immunizing Health Care Workers.

Dorit Rubinstein Reiss


University of California Hastings College of the Law

 

Rene F. Najera


John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health
Abstract: 

To protect vulnerable patients, hospitals increasingly adopt policies requiring health care workers to be vaccinated against influenza. More than twenty states have also enacted statutes or regulations on the topic. A small minority of health care workers oppose the requirement, and several have appealed to our courts of justice.
This article examines the legal issues surrounding influenza mandates for health care workers, including the constitutional framework, federal employment discrimination statutes, and the effect of collective bargaining. It argues that requiring vaccination for health care workers is both ethical and appropriate. While better done via state statute, hospitals have the authority to require vaccination from their workers – and are not, arguably, required to exempt any workers that do not have medical barriers to vaccination.

 

 

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2562091

Italian Decision on Autism and Vaccines: Rimini Court decision

“On the 23 of September, 2014 a judge in the Labor Court of Milan awarded compensation (pdf, translated from Italian) to a child on the theory that the hexavalent vaccine manufactured by GSK – which protects children against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, invasive disease Haemophilus influenzae type B and hepatitis B – caused the child’s autism. The decision was based on an expert’s opinion that made several extremely problematic arguments, arguments that go against the scientific evidence. It has been criticized by the Italian scientific community (translated summary, pdf), and is, apparently, being appealed.

This post explains the reasoning of the decision, and why it is fundamentally flawed.”

 

http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/italian-court-awards-compensation-autism-problem-unreliable-expert/

Workers, Disneyland and Measles

This guest post, hosted by The Vaccine Advocate, asks:

“In response to this, Disneyland asked all employees who came into contact with the five sick employees to submit “vaccination records or submit to a blood test that shows they have built immunity to the disease.” And any employees who could not confirm their immunity status were asked to stay home on paid leave. So wait, if Mickey Mouse can’t confirm his immunity, does he have to stay home from work? Can Disneyland even do that? What about Mickey’s rights?”

 

http://thevaccineadvocate.com/2015/02/02/disneyland-tells-employees-get-shots-or-stay-home-whats-the-law-say-about-that/