HOUSTON: Around 178 staff members at a Houston hospital system have been suspended for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination – a stern rule that prompted scores of employees to file a lawsuit against the medical facility.
Amid the national immunization drive in the United States, Houston Methodist, which runs almost 300 healthcare sites in the city, has suspended 178 employees. The agitating employees, who have been barred from coming into the workplace without pay, cited a number of reasons for vaccine hesitancy. The suspended staff members now have the time till June 21 [Monday] to be vaccinated, or face being fired.
The disagreement symbolizes one of the most striking examples of how organizations desire for their staff to be fully vaccinated despite all their concerns.
Employees of the US staff who are reluctant to get jabbed claimed that the Covid vaccines are ‘unsafe and even experimental’. In response, the hospital notes that hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have been safely administered after a vetting process that included three rounds of clinical trials.
The deadlock between the staffers and the medical facility erupted in March after the hospital system instructed all members to get fully vaccinated within the following three months.
The stern rule has since then resulted in an impasse that has even led to a lawsuit being filed by more than 100 of the system’s staffers. Suspended employees can be seen holding signs saying ‘No forced vaccines’ and ‘Don’t Lose Sight of Our Rights’. Some even claimed that the order is an ‘infringement on their rights.’
President and CEO of Houston Methodist Dr. Marc Boom while commenting on the matter revealed that the employees include 27 members who have already received the first dose and they could complete the regimen by the next deadline easily.
In an email sent to staff this week, Boom added that ‘more than 600 employees were granted exemptions or deferrals for the vaccine requirement while around 25,000 of its employees have been fully vaccinated against the novel disease. Intimidating that being adamant on the matter could cost the employment.’ The statement further clarified that ‘science proves that the vaccines are not only safe but necessary if we are going to turn the corner against the deadly virus. Adding that, ‘Pfizer and Moderna vaccines used mRNA technology which isn’t new or experimental as it’s been around for many years.’
Meanwhile, a US court trashed a lawsuit filed by 117 suspended members who moved the court seeking to overturn the policy and over their suspension which can lead to termination.
US District Judge Lynn Hughes remarked that plea argument that claimed Covid vaccines as experimental and dangerous is absolutely false and otherwise irrelevant. Adding that, the court found that linking the vaccination campaign to the Nazis’ forced medical experimentation is also reprehensible.
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