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Ethics of mandating vaccination from healthcare workers

Healthcare workers are members of the working class that gain income from directly caring for and treating the sick and ailing. They are responsible for the maintenance of the hygiene, nutrition, clinical treatment and rehabilitation of those unable to keep up with their own care while recovering from disease and injury. As voluntary members of this group of laborers, healthcare workers (HCWs) acknowledge that the welfare of their patients usurps any personal feelings or ideals they may have as part of their professional obligations; just as a convicted rapist is expected to get the same standard of care for their ailments as any other patient in the healthcare setting. Similarly to how HCWs don’t choose their patients, they also don’t decide the types of care plans or preventative measures to be put in place- governing bodies of health science research and the biomedical sciences inform healthcare schools, institutions and workers of what is effective treatment and prevention. 

In the case of vaccine mandates for HCWs, it is simply an aspect of standard prevention within the healthcare setting; prevention of disease in both staff and patient populations based on current medical research backed guidelines. The argument can be made that HCWs that do not believe in vaccination, or that feel they should be exempt for religious reasons etc are having their right to autonomy violated. The ethics regarding vaccine mandates, the beneficence of enacting policies that maximize healthcare staff presence on shift and their ability to care for patients must exceed effectiveness of other alternatives to be justified.(Flood et al., 2021) Preventing disease related call outs and maintaining safe patient: staff ratios ensures that the healthcare setting can continue to be a place for treatment and recovery regardless of upticks in viral contagions or bacterial outbreaks in the greater community. Less restrictive measures to contain disease such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and frequent testing are arguably just as effective measures of contagion control- but these measures come with their own sets of costs and limitations like effect on patient care and provider communication.(Giubilini et al., 2023)


References:


Flood, C. M., Thomas, B., & Wilson, K. (2021, February 8). Mandatory vaccination for health care workers: An analysis of law and policy. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l’Association medicale canadienne. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7954540/

Giubilini, A., Savulescu, J., Pugh, J., & Wilkinson, D. (2023, March 1). Vaccine mandates for Healthcare Workers beyond covid-19. Journal of Medical Ethics. https://jme.bmj.com/content/49/3/211 


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