The first two cases of influenza in North Carolina signal the start of the flu season, and simultaneously, a debate over whether health care workers should be forced to be vaccinated appears on the horizon.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued its flu shot guidelines, saying special efforts should be made to vaccinate health care workers. However, reports say the Academy is expected to push to make it mandatory for health care workers to be vaccinated against the flu.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists.

The Academy will release a statement Monday to urge mandatory vaccinations, according a report in USA Today.

The Centers for Disease Control says vaccination coverage levels for health care workers in the United States increased from 10% to 40% between 1989 and 2003. However, the CDC says its goal for 2010 is 60% of health care professionals to receive the flu vaccine.