{"id":881,"date":"2009-11-13T11:21:10","date_gmt":"2009-11-13T10:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=881"},"modified":"2009-11-13T11:21:10","modified_gmt":"2009-11-13T10:21:10","slug":"andrew-potter-on-not-taking-the-swine-flu-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2009\/11\/13\/andrew-potter-on-not-taking-the-swine-flu-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Potter on not taking the swine flu vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/andrew_potter.jpg\" alt=\"Andrew Potter\" width=\"160\" height=\"110\" align=\"left\" \/>Increasing numbers of clinical staff at the hospital where I work declined invitations to be vaccinated against pandemic \u201cswine\u201d influenza. I think this is a worrying trend for both public health reasons and for the doctor\u2019s integrity as a medical practitioner. There have also been reports in the popular press of doctors refusing the jab. As more NHS doctors object to what they perceive as an untried and untested vaccination, does the NHS as an employer, or the GMC as a regulatory authority have any recourse against these doctors? The GMC\u2019s good medical practice publication, paragraph 77 clearly states: \u201cYou should protect your patients, your colleagues and yourself by being immunised against common serious communicable diseases where vaccines are available\u201d [1]. With the current situation of a new vaccination against an infectious disease which likely has yet to bear its full impact, we need improved definition of the terms \u201ccommon\u201d and \u201cserious\u201d to support doctors whom decide not to be vaccinated. I also believe the NHS, either locally or nationally, should provide guidance on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Reference:<\/p>\n<p>1. General Medical Council (2006) Good Medical Practice<\/p>\n<p><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Andrew Potter<\/strong> is a GP trainee having previously worked as a registrar in cardiology, gastroenterology, and acute medicine. I currently work in obstetrics and gynaecology at Bedford Hospital.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Increasing numbers of clinical staff at the hospital where I work declined invitations to be vaccinated against pandemic \u201cswine\u201d influenza. I think this is a worrying trend for both public [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2009\/11\/13\/andrew-potter-on-not-taking-the-swine-flu-vaccine\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1461],"class_list":["post-881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-swine-flu-vaccine"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Andrew Potter on not taking the swine flu vaccine - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2009\/11\/13\/andrew-potter-on-not-taking-the-swine-flu-vaccine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Andrew Potter on not taking the swine flu vaccine - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Increasing numbers of clinical staff at the hospital where I work declined invitations to be vaccinated against pandemic \u201cswine\u201d influenza. 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