Over 150 Houston Hospital Workers Fired or Resigned Due to Non-Vaccination Status The case is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
By Euni Han
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
One hundred fifty-three workers at Houston Methodist hospital system have lost their jobs because they refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Yahoo News.
On June 12th, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes dismissed an employee lawsuit claiming the vaccines are dangerous, experimental and similar to the medical experiments performed on Nazi concentration camp victims during World War II. The judge called the comparison "reprehensible" and says the workers can find other jobs if they're opposed to the vaccine requirement.
The hospital system mandated that employees be vaccinated by June 7. The next day, 178 workers were given a two-week suspension without pay for failing to meet the requirement.
Related: How do I register to get vaccinated if I am 30 years old or older?
On Tuesday, a hospital spokesperson says 153 workers resigned or were terminated.
Jennifer Bridges, a registered nurse who has worked for over six years at the medical-surgical in-patient unit, was part of that group. She says she's not confident about the vaccine's safety and told her boss she was "absolutely not" getting immunized.
Related: Novavax Covid-19 Vaccine Over 90% Effective, Study Shows
"We all knew we were getting fired today," Bridges said. "We knew unless we took that shot to come back, we were getting fired today. There was no ifs, ands or buts."
The workers have already appealed the judge's dismissal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
