FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. If an employee has an adverse reaction to a smallpox vaccination, is it
recordable under OSHA's recordkeeping rule?
If an employee has an adverse reaction to a smallpox vaccination, the
reaction is recordable if it is work related (see
29 CFR 1904.5) and meets the
general recording criteria contained in
29 CFR 1904.7. A reaction caused by a
smallpox vaccination is work related if the vaccination was necessary to
enable the employee to perform his or her work duties. Such a reaction is
work-related even though the employee was not required to receive it, if the
vaccine was provided by the employer to protect the employee against exposure
to smallpox in the work environment. For example, if a health care employer
establishes a program to vaccinate employees who may be involved in treating
people suffering from the effects of a smallpox outbreak, reactions to the
vaccine would be work related. The same principle applies to adverse reactions
among emergency response workers whose duties may cause them to be exposed to
smallpox. The vaccinations in this circumstance are similar to inoculations
given to employees to immunize them from diseases to which they may be exposed
to in the course of work-related overseas travel.
2. Do I need to complete the OSHA injury and illness forms if an employee
sustains a needlestick while administering smallpox vaccinations?
Exposure incidents such as needlesticks or sharps injuries that occur to
employees administering smallpox vaccinations are covered under
29 CFR 1904
(Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses). This regulation
requires employers to complete
OSHA forms 300 and 301, a privacy case list, and
an annual summary. If you are required to keep OSHA injury and illness
records, you must record all work-related needlestick injuries and cuts from
sharp objects that are contaminated with another person's blood or other
potentially infectious material. You must enter the case on the OSHA 300 Log
as an injury. To protect the employee's privacy, you must not enter the
employee's name on the OSHA 300 Log. In place of the name, enter "privacy
concern case."
3. May I use the OSHA 300 Log to meet the Bloodborne Pathogen standard's
requirement for a sharps injury log in
29 CFR 1910.1030?
Yes, provided that you:
1. Enter the type and brand
of the device causing the sharps injury on the OSHA 300 Log, and
2. Separate sharps injuries
from other types of work-related injuries and illnesses in your records or
record them so that sharps injuries can be easily separated.
4. How do these recordkeeping requirements apply to clinics?
Adverse reactions to work-related smallpox vaccination and exposure
incidents, such as needlestick and sharps injuries, involving employees of
clinics are recordable unless the clinic is in an industry specifically
listed in
29 CFR 1904.2
as partially exempt from recordkeeping requirements. If the clinic is in one of
the listed partially exempt industries, it is not required to keep the OSHA log
and other records required by
29 CFR 1904
unless the government specifically asks it to do so. As long as the clinic
does not have to keep the OSHA log, it also does not have to keep the sharps
injury log required under section
29 CFR 1910.1030(h)(5)(ii) of the Bloodborne
Pathogens Standard. This applies to clinics covered by federal OSHA and to
clinics in most State plan States.
However, Minnesota, Washington, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico operate safety and
health programs that do not contain partial exemptions for some Group 800
industries, as section
29 CFR 1904.2 of the federal recordkeeping rule does. In these
jurisdictions, clinics that would be partially exempt under the federal
recordkeeping rule must keep the OSHA log and other records required by
29 CFR 1904, and the sharps injury log required by the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard.
5. How do these requirements apply to hospitals?
All private hospitals and all state and local hospitals operated by
governments in State plan States must keep OSHA injury and illness records and
comply with
29 CFR 1910.1030(h)(5)(ii) which requires a sharps injury log.
6. How do these requirements apply to contractors?
Personnel service industry employers who provide, for example, contract
nursing staff, must keep OSHA injury and illness records and comply with
29 CFR 1910.1030(h)(5)(ii), which requires a sharps injury log unless they:
1. Meet the requirement
under section
29 CFR 1904.1 for a partial exemption because they had 10 or
fewer employees during the last calendar year, or
2. Do not provide
day-to-day supervision of their employees under
29 CFR 1904.31(b)(2).
7. How do these requirements apply to federal agencies?
Federal agencies who keep records under
29 CFR 1960 should consult their
agency's safety and health representative for guidance on recordkeeping
requirements for exposure incidents.
8. What if an employee administering smallpox vaccinations is splashed or
exposed to blood or other potentially infectious material without being cut or
scratched? Do I need to record this incident?
29 CFR 1904.8(b)(4) says you need to record such an incident
on the OSHA Injury and Illness Log if:
It results in the diagnosis of a bloodborne illness (HIV, Hepatitis B or C)
OR
It results in one or more of the general recording criteria in
29 CFR 1904.7:
- Death
- Days away from work
- Restricted work or transfer to another job
- Medical treatment beyond first aid
- Loss of consciousness
- A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other
licensed health care professional
9. What if the employee is splashed by vaccine material?
You need to record such an incident on the OSHA injury and illness log if the
vaccine causes an injury or illness that results in one or more of the general
recording criteria under
29 CFR 1904.7.
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