More than 150 employees of leading US medical group Houston Methodist resigned or were terminated over the past fortnight after refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, reports MedicalBrief.
Houston Methodist set a deadline of June 21 for all employees to either be fully vaccinated or be approved for a religious or medical exemption allowing them to avoid inoculation. Remaining employees who refused to follow this policy were fired, while others resigned before then.
Those who had refused to be vaccinated were initially suspended for two-weeks, affecting 178 staff. While 153 balked, 25 caved in and got vaccinated. The rest were either fired or resigned.
Of the roughly 26,000 employees and employed physicians working in the system when the vaccine mandate was announced in April, about 99% were vaccinated by the June deadline. Exemptions were granted to 285 employees, while another 332 were permitted to delay inoculation until after pregnancies.
All of the exempted employees "will be required to undergo [COVID] surveillance testing once every two weeks, as well as wear both a face mask and face shield while patient facing", the spokesperson said.
Most of the employees who protested the policy said there was not enough comprehensive data on the vaccines' efficacy and safety to take the risk.
Houston Methodist became the first health system to require vaccination for COVID-19 in April, according to CEO Marc Boom. Since then, other systems have followed suit.
See also from the MedicalBrief archives:
US Hospital workers lawsuit challenging mandatory vaccine ‘without merit
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies entail 'considerable legal risk'
SA’s new compulsory vaccinations regulations: Not an employer carte blanche
UK's Court of Protection can compel a COVID-19 vaccination