What many do not realize is that there are “over 200 viruses that can cause influenza and influenza-like-illness and each involve the same primary symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, cough and runny nose.” (Cochrane, 2014).

One need only to refer to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) to find out just how much has been paid out in compensation for injury as a result of the influenza vaccine. A health care facility should carefully examine the evidence, ensure that policies are lawful, and make decisions accordingly concerning vaccinations. Similarly, health care providers, including nurses, are educated and capable of analyzing the facts to make determinations for his or her health. Some media outlets say the science is settled about vaccines but my question is this: When is the science ever settled? The FDA, at one time, deemed every drug that has ever been recalled, safe and effective.

One author stated it best when he said, “Compulsory vaccination, at the expense of personal freedom, should not be accepted in the absence of very strong evidence and the evidence base for the claim that vaccinating healthcare workers against influenza protects their patients is heavily flawed and inconclusive at best” (Abramson, 2012)