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Healthcare workers in New York have won a temporary reprieve from compulsory swine flu vaccinations.

New York State Public Employees Federation has taken the State of New York to court in an attempt to overturn a policy that requires doctors and other healthcare workers to be vaccinated against H1N1 by 30 November or face disciplinary action. On Friday a judge granted a temporary restraining order on the emergency vaccination regulation.

“Our lawsuit states this regulation is an absolute violation of the separation of powers, as it is an unconstitutional exercise of the legislature’s authority,” says PEF President Kenneth Brynien.

If such forced vaccination is necessary it should come from the legislature, not from the desk of the State Health Commissioner, says Brynien. The PEF says it encourages its members to be vaccinated but opposes enforced vaccination.

Last month, State Health Commissioner Richard Daines wrote, “Questions about safety and claims of personal preference are understandable. Given the outstanding efficacy and safety record of approved influenza vaccines, our overriding concern then, as health care workers, should be the interests of our patients, not our own sensibilities about mandates.”

A spokesperson for the commission said it would defend the lawsuits brought by the PEF and others over the vaccination rules and that “the precedents are very clear about the commissioner’s legal right” (Newsday).