So everyone in the hospital in patient care areas should wear a mask whether they are symptomatic or not?
I did fail to mention that this hospital also has a policy that employees with a fever and one other flu symptom are required to be out for 7 days or fever free for 24 hours, whichever is greater.
There will always be infections transmitted in a hospital. The goal of 0 nosocomial infections should most definitely be strived for, but this will never happen. Good handwashing and use of hand sanitizer before and after entering a patient room is the best way to prevent transmission of infection.
Also, the rule is a moot point for me, as I get a flu vaccine yearly, and have been for the past 18 years or so.
If you are worried about folks shedding the virus or getting the virus, then yes. Infected folks can start shedding the virus before they become symptomatic, and vaccinated folks can shed the virus. Whether or not you have been vaccinated doesn't determine whether or not you can be spreading the virus. You could have already encountered the virus, and be generating the antibodies needed to protect yourself without having been symptomatic.
The point is that the rules should follow the facts of virus transmission, not the politics of forcing the vaccination.
And I have been careful to NOT get any flu vaccines. Part of that is due to an autoimmune condition which says I'm not a good candidate for anything requiring the immune system to work right, and part is due to skepticism that the doctors really know the long term risks. For example, this page notes:
"According to the world's leading immunogeneticist, Dr. Hugh Fudenberg, if an individual has had five consecutive flu shots, his or her chances of getting Alzheimer's disease is 10 times higher than if they had one, two or no shots."