The American Medical Association is calling for physicians and healthcare workers to voluntarily take appropriate measures to protect others if they are not immunized from a vaccine-preventable disease, according to an ethical guidance amendment approved during a Nov. 16 meeting.
For physicians who are not immunized, voluntary safety measures include refraining from direct patient care.
Ethical problems arise when physicians without underlying medical conditions decline safe, effective vaccinations, according to the AMA.
"Physicians and other healthcare workers who decline to be immunized with a safe and effective vaccine, without a compelling medical reason, can pose an unnecessary medical risk to vulnerable patients or colleagues," said Michael Suk, MD, AMA board member. "Physicians must strike an ethical balance between their personal commitments as moral individuals and their obligations as medical professionals."
The guidance was approved by physicians at the AMA's House of Delegates meeting.