New York is requiring healthcare personnel to take the influenza vaccination. The state defines “personnel” as “all persons employed or affiliated with a healthcare facility . . . who either have direct contact with patients or whose activities are such that if they were infected with influenza, they could potentially expose patients . . . .”
A fight is brewing in the state between politicians and healthcare workers over the requirement. Can the government require personnel to take the vaccination? The Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause has been used to protect individuals’ fundamental rights in cases such as Griswold and Roe.
Do healthcare personnel have the fundamental right to decide not to take a vaccination?
Other laws exist that require citizens to receive vaccinations for diseases like polio. The Supreme Court, in Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has upheld a state law requiring citizens to take a smallpox vaccine or pay a monetary fine. The law, however, gave citizens a choice.
New York will allow personnel to opt out of the vaccination if it will hurt their health; however, eligible personnel are required to have the vaccination by November 30.
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