Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – Refusing to get flu shot as mandated under the new policy at the Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene can lead to the employees getting fired.
One of the workers of the community-owned hospital said that he would still not agree to get a flu shot even if he’s aware that refusing can lead to his termination from work. The hospital already said that it is putting the safety of its patients as its top priority and it only make sense to require that its employees would get flu vaccines.
Before the new policy, the employees of the hospital were given an option to decline the flu shot and just wear surgical masks but moving forward, the employees can only refuse the vaccine if they can show a file that they have allergic reaction to the flu shot.
Spokesperson of the hospital Kim Anderson said that requiring flu shots to its urgent care clinic workers that have daily interaction with ill patients is a move that should lead to the right path for its patients which is the hospital’s main priority.
One of the nurses at Kootenai Health Tom Madison said that he doesn’t feel like the urgent care facility has any right to force him into getting a flu shot. He mentioned that the past years he was able to decline the vaccine because of his religious exemption on file and said that personally, he doesn’t believe in the science behind the flu shot.
If the hospital is asked its opinion about the employees still refusing the flu shot even with the possibility of getting terminated, its spokesperson said that Kootenai Health cannot risk having unvaccinated workers interacting with its very ill patients on a day to day basis.
The hospital said that only 4% of its employees declined the flu vaccine the year before but in spite of the requirement, Tom Madison still firmly believe that he shouldn’t be forced to get the shot and said that he’s now getting ready to let go of the job and gear up for his next urgent care near me employment.
Meanwhile, those who are working in other urgent care clinics like the Sacred Heart in Spokane aren’t required to get a flu shot. If they decline it, it is mandatory for them to just wear a mask at work.
For the Kootenai Health employees, they are required to get their flu vaccines by the 12th of November.
