The Vaccination Debate

A recent decision by Ambulance Victoria (1) to require new staff to be fully vaccinated has caused some ripples in the media and some health related circles, but is it really such an issue? The public should expect high level pre-hospital care and not be exposed to, or potentially infected with a common disease that would normally be vaccinated against, as was the case recently in Queensland, Australia. A Queensland paramedic has been accused of potentially exposing up to 4,500 people to measles (2). This has necessitated a time-consuming, and therefore expensive, follow up of the people potentially exposed.Should pre-hospital care organisations provide appropriate vaccinations for their existing workforce if they have not had them previously, to protect them, their families, colleagues and the general public against vaccine-preventable diseases? Is it not reasonable to expect new employees to be fully vaccinated, especially in healthcare organisations? Monash University in Victoria, Australia, for example, expects healthcare students to be fully vaccinated prior to attending their clinical placements (3), thereby ensuring paramedic students meet the new employment requirements of Ambulance Victoria.