Some resistant to mandatory flu shots

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NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- The trend toward mandatory H1N1 vaccinations for U.S. healthcare workers is meeting resistance from unions and anti-government groups, officials said.

Hundreds of thousands of nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers are being ordered to become vaccinated as the second wave of the H1N1 pandemic spreads this fall.

The trend is fueling rumors that the H1N1 vaccine may become mandatory for everyone, said Lori Price of Citizens for Legitimate Government, a Connecticut-based group that opposes government expansion.

"It's all part of an encroachment on our liberties," Price told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Saturday.

Hospital Corp. of America, with clinics and hospitals in 20 states, is requiring its 120,000 employees to be vaccinated and the state of New York is requiring all healthcare workers to get both seasonal and H1N1 flu shots.

Mandatory vaccination diverts attention from more effective infection-control methods, such as state-of-the-art masks, said Bill Borwegen, a occupational health and safety director of the Service Employees International Union.