While I understand the seriousness of illnesses and the fear of the impact flu season has on the healthcare community, it feels like quite an overreach for the public health officer to enact a mask mandate on healthcare workers. After doing some research, we are not the only county that this is being enacted upon, however, that does not lessen the impact.
Statements have been made that this is what healthcare workers signed up for and to a point, I would agree. However, for many years prior to Covid-19, masks were only recommended, and for AH, if you didn't get the flu shot, a requirement. Now, not only is it common practice for healthcare workers to be "forced" to get the flu shot, thanks to the assistance of Covid-19 vaccinations being "forced", but you must also now wear a mask and be vaccinated thanks to this order.
Being "forced" in the paragraph above, includes the caveat that you can get vaccinated, or get a written exemption, and wear a mask. The written exemption has to approved by the healthcare entity if only deemed appropriate for their standards.
It does not seem appropriate for the PHO to issue a mandate that the healthcare organizations should be able to handle on their own. Additionally, the length of this mandate should be considered unethical. Research after research shows that the flu shot, is not 100% effective. Meaning some amount of time when the flu shot is being created, the miss the strand completely. So how can we look at this from a logical standpoint.
The PHO should (in my opinion):
1) place all health orders yearly, not just stamped for years to come, or until rescinded
2) Recommend the flu shot be given yearly
3) In the event that flu shot vaccination misses the mark based on available research, recommend masking.
4) If the need is to protect healthcare workers work with the entities to establish guidelines
5) If in fact the need is to protect the public, blast out info with recommendations. Hand washing, masking if compromised, vaccinate.
In addition to the above, the following is recommended:
The PHO should be a voted, elected official, not for the politics, but for the will of the people. Putting out mandates that are not supported by the community only divide government further. A PHO should have to explain to the public the reason, the science, and the full justification for any order made and then answer all of the public's questions.
The PHO I believe, and I have not researched it, so if I am wrong, I admit I'm making an educated guess here, but they are the only position in county government that can put out any order, and not truly be held accountable for it locally.
I want to be clear, I am not 100% opposed to masking, vaccinations or any combination of the two, however in the pandemic, individuals lost their freedom of choice due to mandates. These were honestly based on the state, county, or city, you lived in. Now looking back, individuals need that freedom. Mandates are authoritative because there is no choice, when in fact healthcare is not so simple.
They know what they signed up for, let them choose. At the end of the day, I ask and recommend the PHO to consider, reducing the mandate to a recommendation and work county healthcare entities as recommended.
While I understand the seriousness of illnesses and the fear of the impact flu season has on the healthcare community, it feels like quite an overreach for the public health officer to enact a mask mandate on healthcare workers. After doing some research, we are not the only county that this is being enacted upon, however, that does not lessen the impact.
Statements have been made that this is what healthcare workers signed up for and to a point, I would agree. However, for many years prior to Covid-19, masks were only recommended, and for AH, if you didn't get the flu shot, a requirement. Now, not only is it common practice for healthcare workers to be "forced" to get the flu shot, thanks to the assistance of Covid-19 vaccinations being "forced", but you must also now wear a mask and be vaccinated thanks to this order.
Being "forced" in the paragraph above, includes the caveat that you can get vaccinated, or get a written exemption, and wear a mask. The written exemption has to approved by the healthcare entity if only deemed appropriate for their standards.
It does not seem appropriate for the PHO to issue a mandate that the healthcare organizations should be able to handle on their own. Additionally, the length of this mandate should be considered unethical. Research after research shows that the flu shot, is not 100% effective. Meaning some amount of time when the flu shot is being created, the miss the strand completely. So how can we look at this from a logical standpoint.
The PHO should (in my opinion):
1) place all health orders yearly, not just stamped for years to come, or until rescinded
2) Recommend the flu shot be given yearly
3) In the event that flu shot vaccination misses the mark based on available research, recommend masking.
4) If the need is to protect healthcare workers work with the entities to establish guidelines
5) If in fact the need is to protect the public, blast out info with recommendations. Hand washing, masking if compromised, vaccinate.
In addition to the above, the following is recommended:
The PHO should be a voted, elected official, not for the politics, but for the will of the people. Putting out mandates that are not supported by the community only divide government further. A PHO should have to explain to the public the reason, the science, and the full justification for any order made and then answer all of the public's questions.
The PHO I believe, and I have not researched it, so if I am wrong, I admit I'm making an educated guess here, but they are the only position in county government that can put out any order, and not truly be held accountable for it locally.
I want to be clear, I am not 100% opposed to masking, vaccinations or any combination of the two, however in the pandemic, individuals lost their freedom of choice due to mandates. These were honestly based on the state, county, or city, you lived in. Now looking back, individuals need that freedom. Mandates are authoritative because there is no choice, when in fact healthcare is not so simple.
They know what they signed up for, let them choose. At the end of the day, I ask and recommend the PHO to consider, reducing the mandate to a recommendation and work county healthcare entities as recommended.