Should companies mandate certain vaccinations?

Infectious diseases are the second most common cause of death in the United States. Influenza alone kills more than 36,000 people a year.

Infectious diseases can spread in a variety of ways including, direct contact, indirect contact, through the air, and droplets. Measles is an example of one highly contagious disease that spreads quickly through the air. Luckily, it also has an extremely effective vaccine with an over 95 percent success rate. Other infectious diseases with efficient vaccines include hepatitis A and B, Lyme Disease, tuberculosis, and smallpox.

The flu vaccine, however, is only relatively successful. During the 2012-2013 flu season, the vaccine’s effectiveness was only 62 percent. This was public knowledge and still only 26.3 percent of people aged 18-49 were vaccinated. Such low vaccination rates combined with over 200,000 cases of the flu a year beg the question: Should businesses create company-wide policies mandating flu vaccination?

The cost of not vaccinating employees

A single dose of the flu vaccine costs around $20, depending on the type of healthcare an individual has. Various studies have estimated that employee flu vaccinations save businesses money.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that the flu causes adults, ages 18-64, to miss 17 million work days a year; resulting in $6.2 billion of lost productivity. Another study, by The New England Journal of Medicine, estimated that flu vaccines reduce worker absenteeism by 36 percent and also save an average of $46 per vaccinated employee. A third study, by JAMA Internal Medicine, estimated that flu vaccines generate savings 95 percent of the time and yield a mean saving of $13.66 per vaccinated employee. All three of these studies show that it’s profit-maximizing for businesses to have their employees vaccinated.

What can businesses do to encourage vaccination?

Set up onsite clinics. These clinics are convenient for employees and lead to higher rates of participation. To further encourage participation, companies can post educational medical posters around the office. Companies can also send out a company-wide email explaining the health benefits of being vaccinated.

Companies should always be cautious in mandating vaccinations. For example, The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center fired Sakile S. Chenzira after she refused to get the flu vaccine because she’s a vegan and the vaccine contained chicken eggs. The court agreed with Sakile’s claims.The next question that arises: Besides the flu vaccine, what other infectious disease vaccines should companies prioritize?