Heartbeat: The four is with our Muslim colleagues

October 31, 2018

Our flu campaign this year is based around ‘may the 4 be with you,’ as we encourage colleagues to gain their four shields of protection against the dark side. At the time of Heartbeat going to print, over half of our patient facing colleagues have already joined the force.

This includes a number of our Muslim colleagues who have had their flu vaccine for the first time this year – Heartbeat spoke to Finance Manager, Masood Hussain to find out more.

He said: “One of the main reasons that Muslim staff, including myself, have been reluctant to have the flu vaccine in the past was due to the misconception that it contained animal or pork derivatives.

“The campaign this year is so eye catching that it made me think that I should try and seek clarification on this, so I contact occupational health who confirmed that the vaccine they use does not contain any pork or other meat products or derivatives.

“Thanks to this reassurance, I have now had my vaccine for the first time and have spoken to a lot of Muslim and BME colleagues and have convinced them to have their vaccine too.”

Occupational Health and Wellbeing Nurse Manager, Tracy Lees is delighted that Masood and other Muslim colleagues have been reassured about the vaccine.

She told Heartbeat: “It’s great to hear that Masood has been reassured and has now had his flu vaccine for the first time and I am delighted that he is now encouraging his colleagues to get protected too.

“There is a few common misconceptions about the vaccine containing animal products or being unsuitable for those with an allergy to egg.

“The vaccine has a very low albumin content, so it can still be given to staff who have mild allergies to eggs and can even been given in A&E to those who have had an anaphylactic reaction to eggs.

“We have also been informed that some people think you can’t have the vaccine if you haven’t had it before. This is absolutely not true – it is never too late to start having an annual flu vaccine.

“If anyone else has concerns about the vaccine and thinks they are unable to have it, please do contact occupational health for advice as the vaccine is perfectly safe for the majority of colleagues.”