Daycare teachers - required flu shot?

CocoGelato

My DD is at a great daycare center, and I have the advantage that my sister works there as a teacher so I get some inside info.  With DS expected in a few weeks, I asked my sister if she got her flu shot.  I kind of expected the daycare to require teachers to do so, especially since she works in the infant rooms.  They don't.

Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, but this has had me really concerned.  My DS will be starting daycare in February and be too young to get his own flu shot.  Does your daycare require teachers to get a flu shot?  Am I over-reacting in debating on talking to the director about this?

MickeyM04

I have never heard of a DC requiring any sort of vaccination of its employees, and quite frankly, I don't think legally they can.  We interviewed several DCs when I was pregnant with DS and again when I was pregnant with DD and none of them required any vaccinations - Pertussis, flu, or otherwise.  I'm pretty sure legally an employer cannot require you to get vaccinations.  In our state, DCFS does require that DC teachers keep their physicals up to date (every 2 years I think?) but that's about it.  

You are definitely going to get some side eyes if you talk to the DC director about this, unless by talking about it, you mean asking whether they require vaccinations.  If you mean talking like expressing your concerns and trying to make the DC implement a new policy requiring vaccinations, no I don't think you should do that unless you want to look like a crazy lady.  I don't believe any DC would ever require its employees to get vaccinated, so other than confirming that they do not require it, this isn't something that is up for discussion would be my guess.

If you want to hire a nanny that is probably your best bet, because you can always make that a condition of employment ("If you want this job, you'll have to get vaccinated for the flu, pertussis, etc.") but that being said, she could just as likely tell you no as DC.

[Deleted User]

An employer can require vaccinations as a term of employment. Some states require healthcare workers to get the flu vaccine.

So yes.  It is possible to mandate it. 

I am looking up various state's requirements in regards to vaxxing teachers. 

CocoGelato

Thanks for the responses.

I'm not about to pull them out of the center for this.  My thoughts toward a discussion with the director were the reasons why I found it concerning, and perhaps setting something up like on-site flu shots to encourage teachers to get them. 

I know many nurses that are required to get the flu shot, and as teachers of infants as young as 8 weeks old it is a somewhat similar situation in working with those with lesser immune systems.

FWIW, the daycare does require the kids to be up to date on vaccines (not the flu shot).  I don't put the flu shot in the same category as early childhood vaccines, but there is some precedent of a "mandate".

Just curious if anyone else looked into this at their centers and what different regulations are.  I'm not necessarily looking for a policy change, but lately I have to check if I'm over-reacting

[Deleted User]

It can't hurt to have a discussion and plant the seed.

minirella

I am the only one that gets the flu shot in our household. I work in healthcare and am required unless I want to wear a mask at work. Just because you get the flu shot doesn't mean you are protected from the flu as there are different strains. One of my co-workers who got the flu shot, had the flu last week.

emberlee3

minirella said:

I am the only one that gets the flu shot in our household. I work in healthcare and am required unless I want to wear a mask at work. Just because you get the flu shot doesn't mean you are protected from the flu as there are different strains. One of my co-workers who got the flu shot, had the flu last week.

Well, yes.  It doesn't protect you 100%.  But it protects you more than not getting a flu shot. 

When DD was an infant under six months old, I required my nanny to get a flu shot as a term of employment. 

emberlee3

amy052006 said:

CocoGelato said:

Thanks for the responses.

I'm not about to pull them out of the center for this.  My thoughts toward a discussion with the director were the reasons why I found it concerning, and perhaps setting something up like on-site flu shots to encourage teachers to get them. 

I know many nurses that are required to get the flu shot, and as teachers of infants as young as 8 weeks old it is a somewhat similar situation in working with those with lesser immune systems.

FWIW, the daycare does require the kids to be up to date on vaccines (not the flu shot).  I don't put the flu shot in the same category as early childhood vaccines, but there is some precedent of a "mandate".

Just curious if anyone else looked into this at their centers and what different regulations are.  I'm not necessarily looking for a policy change, but lately I have to check if I'm over-reacting

I get that, and I definitely don't think it is an over reaction.  It's just public health common sense, but then again I'm a judger of anyone who forgoes a flu shot for a non-medical reason, let alone someone who is that hands on with small kids.

Preach, Amy.  That is one of the very few things I judge!

chloebeth930

My center requires that all the employees, and the children old enough have, the flu shot. They have offered free clinics to help cover the costs for employees or the kids. 

I don't know if my situation is different though because my daycare is on a military base, and well let's be honest, usually the military makes up their own rules haha.

litzo27

chloebeth930 said:

My center requires that all the employees, and the children old enough have, the flu shot. They have offered free clinics to help cover the costs for employees or the kids. 

I don't know if my situation is different though because my daycare is on a military base, and well let's be honest, usually the military makes up their own rules haha.

Our daycare (non-military) does this too: all employees and children old enough. And we need to bring in documentation of the flu shot for the kids.

minirella

I respect your opinion. I believe good hand hygiene is the best measure and that is what we practice. I know that can be a lost measure these days.

To the OP, if your daycare isn't requiring flu shots, ask them to wash your child's hands often and/or provide hand wipes for their use. They should not have any problem with a hand hygiene request unless they just don't want to take the time to do it.

CocoGelato

minirella said:

I respect your opinion. I believe good hand hygiene is the best measure and that is what we practice. I know that can be a lost measure these days.

To the OP, if your daycare isn't requiring flu shots, ask them to wash your child's hands often and/or provide hand wipes for their use. They should not have any problem with a hand hygiene request unless they just don't want to take the time to do it.

Not sure how this addresses concerns on infants under 6 months old.  They typically are not crawling and some are not even reaching for toys yet.  Daycare teachers are holding these babies for extended periods when feeding bottles, rocking to sleep, comforting, etc.  It is very hard to avoid close face-to-face contact.  I do trust they wash their hands regularly though, and they actually wear gloves when feeding bottles of breastmilk, so that is an added safety measure I suppose.

CocoGelato

I wrote an informal email to the director with a couple of my concerns, and she's going to send out a memo to all the teachers encouraging them to get the flu shot, and reminding them of how it will help keep the all children, especially the infants, well.

Honestly, since my daughter has been there 2 years and my sister works there, I'm luckily comfortable enough to just ask the two other main infant teachers if they got theirs.

Beevol

I work in health care and must get a flu shot as a condition of my employment. 

In a normal flu season, the people most at risk for death are infants under the age of 1 year and the elderly/infirm so folks who are in close personal contact with those populations put others at risk by not getting the vaccine (in weird swine flu sort of years, young healthy people die too - a friend of mine was a 39 year old state champion martial artist and was dead within 2 weeks of feeling a little gross, so.). This might be an area where the Center Director would benefit from some education and nudging (another big adult vaccination is the DTAP which needs to be done every 10 years and covers Whooping Cough - another one that kills quickly with those most at risk being infants too young to receive the vaccine). 

My OB said that one of the benefits of getting vaccinated while pregnant is that it helps confer some temporary immunity to the fetus in utero, and then if you breastfeed, you'll pass the antibodies on then too. Not as good as an immunization, but it's something. 

Mustardseed2007

At our center I guess it must not be required, bc one of DDs teacher's told me one day all about how she never gets one (context was I had taken DD for her vaccinations and I got my flu shot at the same time, I was feeling lousing following the shot and mentioned it). DDs lead teacher jumped into the conversation to tell me how she always gets the shot...I think she was worried I would be upset that the one teacher wasn't getting one.

I would prefer they all had it, but I really don't have confidence that I will get anywhere telling the center about it. I figure they have probably at some point considered requiring teachers to get it and decided against making it a requirement. At least DD is old enough to have the pertussis and flu shot now though.