TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Jim Whelan that would require health care facilities to offer flu shots to their employees was approved today by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.
“A flu outbreak in hospitals, nursing homes or other health care facilities can have detrimental affects not only on the health professionals afflicted but also on the care they provide,” said Senator Vitale (D-Middlesex). “By simply having a flu shot, health care workers can significantly decrease the possibility of spreading the flu to patients who already have compromised immune systems. Health care workers have a professional and ethical obligation to receive an influenza vaccination and if health care facilities can make these vaccines more available to them, they have an obligation to do so.”