Now this is sick!
State Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah blasted nurses and other medical workers for failing to get flu shots and thus risking their patients’ health.
Shah called the situation “deplorable,” with less than half of state medical workers reportedly getting immunized last year. His message: Heal thyself.
“These are people who are taking care of patients in hospitals, nursing homes and other settings who are not getting their flu shots,” Shah told the state’s Public Health and Health Planning Council.
In the best-case scenario, he said, more nurses are getting vaccinated but it’s not being documented.
“It’s incumbent on all of us in every setting in health care . . . [to get] flu shots [and] document . . . that they got them,” Shah said.
He said staffers who, for whatever reasons, don’t get flu shots should wear masks during contact with patients during flu season.
In the past, Albany sought to require flu shots for medical staffers, but backed off after the state Nurses Association and other unions protested.