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Added on the 01/05/2020 22:49:52 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
Parisians clap from their balconies on Day 20 of a national lockdown to cheer on health-care workers battling the coronavirus pandemic in France. IMAGES
Several dozen people demonstrate in front of the University Hospital Institute (IHU) in Marseille against the compulsory vaccination of hospital staff. A general call to strike has been launched, as the Constitutional Council is set to rule on the validity of the new anti-Covid measures. IMAGES
UPI reports new research shows it's a very good idea to insist that healthcare workers get an annual flu shot. That's according to researchers from the University of Georgia, Montana State University and Monash University in Australia. They found that states with mandatory flu shots for hospital workers saw statewide reductions in deaths from influenza and pneumonia. They estimate that during the 2016-17 season alone, nearly 2,000 deaths were averted in the 15 U.S. states that had mandatory vaccination laws at that time. The findings suggest that health-worker vaccination laws may be a good way to protect the country's most vulnerable populations. The researchers say it's possible that similar benefits could also be seen with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of hospital workers.
800 nurses from St. Mary Medical Center, in the Philadelphia area, walked out Tuesday to protest hospital understaffing. As the third wave of coronavirus cases hits the country, hospitals are reaching capacity as hospital workers continue to suffer from burnout. According to Business Insider, the US reported a record 67,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations on November 12. But the issues nurses are striking over — caring for too many patients at once, understaffed hospitals, and burnout — existed prior to the pandemic. One study in the Journal of Nursing Administration found adding 10% more nurses to hospitals can reduce the odds a patient will die by 4%.
Yves Veyrier, the general secretary of France's Force Ouvriere union, says the French government's response to demands by hospital and healthcare workers must "match" the applause given to them during the peak of the coronavirus epidemic. SOUNDBITE