Nurses sue to block mandatory swine-flu shot

H1N1 (photo: CDC)

Several nurses are suing the state of New York to protect themselves from mandatory swine flu vaccinations – saying threats of being fired for refusing shots violate their civil rights.

Albany Medical Center nurses face a week of suspension without pay and termination if they don't accept both the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccinations by Oct. 27.

According to a New York mandate, all health-care workers must be vaccinated by Nov. 30.

But the four nurses argue that proper hygiene – such as washing hands and covering mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing – is an equally effective method for combating the flu. They also expressed concerns about possible side effects of the H1N1 vaccine.

"I have had more staff that have become ill after the flu vaccines this year than co-workers that have actually come down with the illness," Lorna Patterson, one of the nurses, told Albany's WTEN-TV.

She said she believes more time is needed to learn about the vaccine's effectiveness. Patterson, a nurse for 28 years, said she hasn't received the flu shot since she was a teenager.

Patterson's co-worker, nurse Katheryn Dupuis, said she's only received a flu shot once in her 10-year career as an emergency room nurse.

"We're going to lose our jobs if we do not get this vaccine," Dupuis said. "There are hundreds of co-workers of ours that feel just as strongly against the vaccine."

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The nurses are collecting signatures on petitions to area hospitals and health-care providers. They have at least 500 signatures on one, and several others are circulating through the community. They have also scheduled a protest at the capitol Wednesday at 1 p.m.

According to Albany's WRGB-TV 6, the group is concerned that pharmaceutical companies have been given immunity in case complications from the vaccine arise.

The nurses plan to file their lawsuit against state Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines in New York Supreme Court by the end of this week.

The Department of Health says it will vigorously defend itself in the lawsuit, and health officials are confident the regulation will be upheld by the court, WXXA-TV 23 reports.

But Patterson and Dupuis said they will retire or find nursing positions outside of New York if the state doesn't withdraw its mandate.

"I don't think anybody wants to achieve that kind of result," their lawyer, Terry Kindlon, told WTEN. "The health-care workers are being stampeded into this, and we're supposed to be a thoughtful, rational society that deals with things through due process and careful reflection. That's not what [New York] wants them to do here.

"They're saying, 'Look you guys, get the shots or in the next two weeks, you're on the street.' That's criminal. That's ridiculous. That's insane."

Another lawsuit filed in New York City against Daines and Jeffrey Kraut, chairman of the state Hospital Planning and Review Council, argues that the state does not have the authority to mandate vaccines.

Kindlon said other lawsuits are arising throughout the state, and the New York Civil Liberties Union may file a legal complaint in coming weeks.

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