CITIZENS NEWS

Nurse to sue Texas hospital for mandating workers get vaccinated or risk getting fired

By virgiliomarin // 2021-05-18

Texas nurse Jennifer Bridges is suing the Houston Methodist Hospital where she works after it mandated all staff members to get vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Those who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine risk losing their jobs under the new rule. Bridges, who was honored by her hospital in 2019 for her dedicated service, said that she would refuse to get the vaccine even if it meant getting fired. Though she understood the need for safety measures, she said she wants to wait until the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has gathered enough data to prove the new vaccines are safe.

"All we're asking is just more time," the healthcare worker told KHOU 11. "In the meantime, we'll wear N-95s, face shields. We'll do what the [Centers for Disease and Control Prevention] says is perfectly safe."

The FDA did not fully approve the vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. It only issued an emergency approval. Despite this, Houston Methodist CEO Dr. Marc Boom still ordered all of his 26,000 employees to get vaccinated.

"We're never going to make anybody take the vaccine. But at the end of the day if they choose not to take the vaccine, there are many other places they can work," Boom said, adding that around 3,000 workers are still not vaccinated.

The hospital was the first in the United States to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory. Its updated policy states that if an employee is not vaccinated by June 7, he or she will be suspended for two weeks. If an employee remains unvaccinated after the suspension period, the company would initiate the termination process. Only those with a valid medical or religious reason are exempt from the policy.

The CEO acknowledged that it is every American's right to refuse the vaccine. However, the hospital has an obligation to keep its patients safe. (Related: RFK, Jr. to Rutgers President: COVID vaccine mandate violates federal law.)

Hundreds of employees have reached out to Bridges since she went public. "Basically, they're either going to quit, get fired, and some have reached out to me literally crying, saying they're going to hold off until the last day and take that shot against their will because they have to feed their family," she shared.

The nurse started a petition to garner support against the policy and launched an online crowdfunding campaign to fund her lawsuit. She wrote on a GoFundMe page that by putting in place a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the hospital showed that it does not value its employees.

Workers fired for refusing coronavirus vaccine

Since the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, several workers have been terminated from their jobs because they refused to get vaccinated. New York City waitress Bonnie Jacobson was fired last February after telling her employer at Red Hook Tavern that she wanted to wait before getting the vaccine. The Brooklyn resident was trying to get pregnant and feared that the vaccine might cause infertility. Her manager initially sympathized with her concerns and told her that getting vaccinated was not required. But days later, her workplace changed its policy and informed all employees that vaccination was mandatory. The new policy only exempted those with a valid medical reason. Last March, Samantha Wise of Arkansas was also fired from her job after refusing to get the vaccine. Her employer, Harvest Cannabis Dispensary, also made vaccination mandatory for all employees. According to Wise, she was concerned about the vaccine's side effects since she has a bad reaction to a lot of medicines. After notifying company executives that she would not get vaccinated, the mother of five was told to turn in her badge and key card. "They actually did it – they really fired me – I didn't think it was really going to happen," she said. Jobless and with a big family to feed, Wise hoped that employers in the future wouldn't make individuals choose between their career and an unproven vaccine. "I wish you all would let people make decisions for themselves instead of making the decision for them," Wise said. Learn more about the government and Big Business's campaign to force COVID-19 vaccines on everyone at MedicalTyranny.com. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk KHOU.com NBCNews.com FOX59.com

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