Hospital suspends 178 health care workers for failing to get COVID vaccine

[ruet]

Last edited Wed Jun 9, 2021, 03:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Ars Technica

As of Tuesday, 178 health care workers employed by a Houston-based hospital system are on a two-week unpaid suspension after failing to meet the hospital system’s mandate to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday, June 7.

Houston Methodist CEO Marc Boom announced the mandate in April, telling hospital staffers that if they failed to get vaccinated, they would be fired. The 178 suspended employees now have the two unpaid weeks to become fully vaccinated before termination. They can do so by getting the one-shot COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson or a second dose of either of the two mRNA vaccines. Boom noted in a letter to employees sent Tuesday that 27 of the 178 suspended employees have received one dose of vaccine.

The Texas hospital system stood out in issuing the vaccination mandate. Many employers have shied away from mandates, though more employers have followed Houston Methodist’s lead in recent weeks. Overall, the mandate appears successful: about 97 percent of the hospital’s nearly 26,000 employees are fully vaccinated. Boom reported that 24,947 staffers were fully vaccinated, while 285 received a medical or religious exemption, and 332 were granted deferrals for pregnancy and other reasons.

Read more: https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/06/hospital-suspends-178-healthcare-workers-for-failing-to-get-covid-vaccine/

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This is a follow up to:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2750155


I'll post the same comment I posted there:


Understanding Employment At Will

Texas employment law states that workers in the Lone Star State are employed at will. This means that, unless prevented by statute or an express agreement (e.g. an employment contract), an employer may terminate the relationship with an employee at any time and for any reason, without having to provide justification. Absent a few limited circumstances, an employer may also modify the terms or conditions of employment at any time, without notice and without a reason.

This is what you've been pushing for decades Righty. Now choke on it.

[thucythucy]

1. I'm intrigued by the idea of a "religious exemption" in relation to vaccines.

Does this cover all vaccines, or are there special exemptions for Covid?

I'm familiar with Christian Scientists eschewing medical care, and Jehovah's Witnesses declining blood transfusions. Are there other sects that have similar issues? And then wouldn't working in a hospital (unless, I suppose, in a completely non-medical capacity) be something of a contradiction?

Just curious.

[thucythucy]

2. I did a little Googling.

It turns out that aside from the Christian Scientists and a very few, very small group of fundamentalist Protestant sects, there really aren't any religious groups that ban vaccinations for theological reasons.

Perhaps these account for the religious exemptions cited in the article.

[druidity33]

11. Had a co-worker who was

a Jehovahs witness say he wasn't allowed to get any vaccines...

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. The denomination originally denounced vaccines, but reversed their position in 1952.

Any JW who claims that now is using convenient cover assuming others won't question it.

[Rebl2]

19. Bingo!

[oldsoftie]

39. And there you have it! It WILL be used as an excuse

[FarPoint]

5. Who cares ....they can just find another job...

I believe all health care workers should be required to be fully vaccinated...I reach for the most effective measure to date to eliminate covid-19. Health Care workers ...they risk infecting vulnerable patients...spreading covid-19....unacceptable.

[thucythucy]

36. Oh I agree.

I was just curious to know which groups would lay claim to a religious exemption.

Turns out very few.

[FarPoint]

38. We realize this is a brainwashing political choice...

Ultimately, the public suffers....

[IronLionZion]

15. Maybe Orthodox/Hasidic Jewish

and the very conservative branches of other religions. Then there are the anti-vaxx nuts who might claim some natural healing spiritual beliefs or something like that as an exemption.

Many of these unvaxxed religious people will gather indoors unmasked to worship. During a hot summer, there will be air conditioning and singing/chanting in shared air. So the pandemic is going to continue spreading among these groups and whoever comes in contact with them.

[NNadir]

26. A Christian "Scientist" working in a hospital is rather like a member of PETA working in a...

...slaughter house.

[thucythucy]

37. That would be my impression as well.

Maybe as a custodian or cafeteria worker, something that has little to do with actually providing medical care.

Otherwise it would seem rather self-contradictory.

[FarPoint]

3. Works for me....

I know this vaccine is the answer to eliminating the pandemic...with annual Boosters...pending long term evaluation of immune response to vaccine.

[George II]

4. For many years Hartford Hospital in Connecticut has mandated that all personnel on the floors....

....(not sure about administrative personnel) get flu shots. They don't terminate them, but they have to wear masks while on duty.

[FakeNoose]

6. Medical facilities have to consider the health/safety of their patients

There's liability involved, and I'm sure the insurance companies are getting vocal in this. Hospitals can't afford the risk of lawsuits from patients getting infected on the premises.

Employers in any state - not just Texas - need to be proactive with their employees vis a vis the vaccination requirement. It's no longer a question of "if," it's a question of "when." Employees, get vaccinated or you're laid off. Job-seekers, don't bother applying here if you're not already vaccinated.

[MichMan]

33. Federal, State and Local government employees need to be next

No reason why they shouldn't be forced to be vaccinated as a condition of being employed too. Executive branches at all levels could order it tomorrow.

[Akakoji]

34. Yes, that's correct. It's always about liability.

And terminating is better than suspending a health care worker that his too stupid or stubborn to realize that part of their care is providing a safe interpersonal encounter with anyone in the place they work.

[AZLD4Candidate]

7. As a teacher, I am required to have an MMR in order to work in a school in Arizona

Guess what? Hospitals can have the same requirement as well for immunizations.

Added that Texas is a right-to-starve at will hiring state. So. . .the hospital is well within its rights unless there is a contract.

[progree]

8. The anti-vaxxers including %#@! Robert F Kennedy Jr are at it again

Last edited Wed Jun 9, 2021, 07:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Anti-vaccine film targeted to Black Americans spreads false information, NPR, 6/8/21

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/06/08/npr-anti-vaccine-film-targeted-to-black-americans-spreads-false-information

Black Americans have twice the risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to White Americans ( https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html ) . Racial disparities in vaccination uptake persist across the U.S. ( https://khn.org/news/article/covid-vaccination-stark-racial-disparities-persist-state-level-cdc-data/ )

but of course people of all races and ethnicities see this kind of crap propaganda.

[ShazzieB]

31. RFK Jr. pisses me the fuck off!

I consider him a disgrace to his father's memory.

[Paladin]

9. Plenty of other excellent hospitals in Houston.

Which is fortunate, because Houston Methodist has lost me and my family, for good. We're all vaccinated, and anybody who intends on dispensing health care to us damn sure better be vaccinated, as well.

[inwiththenew]

10. So roughly 600 people, over and above the 178 also are also not vaccinated?

Due to various exceptions? That's 3.5 times the amount of voluntary refusals. Is that not problem?

[Mr.Bill]

13. It depends if they can be put in jobs with no patient contact.

There are lots of people in hospitals who have no medical degrees and little or no patient contact. Think groundskeepers, kitchen workers, maintenance, administrative staff, lab, etc.

[calimary]

12. Choke on it? Probably more like - die from it.

That old saw “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” comes to mind.

But in this case it’d have to be about leading a horse’s ASS to water…

[LittleGirl]

14. Thank goodness I live where science is #1

And not some where idiots are the loudest.

[Initech]

16. If you don't get the vaccine you have no business being anywhere near a hosptal.

And you especially don't have any business being employed by one either!

[monkeyman1]

18. remember when !!

in the day's of hiv , if you infected a person with hiv knowing to intentionally infect them -you could be charged with attempted manslaughter! this stuff is going full circle . just my thoughts!

[Rebl2]

20. If an employee

says this it should be studied to see if their religion really does say no vaccines.

[riversedge]

21. They were given time to get vaccinated. Now face the consequences . I agree that

health care workers need to be vaccinated--for the sake of the patients.

[The Mouth]

22. Shitcan the plague rats.

[3catwoman3]

23. In my experience as a peds NP, it seemed as if people would typically claim a religious...

...objection because they knew they could get away with that, when their real reason was basic anti-vax bullshit that is not defensible.

I'm so glad I'm now retired so I don't have to bash my head against this wall anymore.

[LymphocyteLover]

25. yeah, that makes sense

[LymphocyteLover]

24. good!

[paleotn]

27. Fire them.

Right to fire state, right? Screw them. My give a fucks ran out in 2016.

[I of the Eye]

28. Okay

When you work in health care, it probably makes sense that you be healthy yourself!

[BobTheSubgenius]

29. Let's count all the ways I feel bad for them.

OK. First....

I got nothin'.

[mac2766]

30. Bingo!!! we have a winner!

[Historic NY]

32. Sorry no vaccine, find another job...

my niece works on a COVID-19 ward....maybe they should be posted to one.

[Angleae]

35. Play stupid games, get stupid prizes.

[FlyingPiggy]

40. only bc of covid does this make news. Hospitals have always required vaccinations. People have lost

their minds. Why people think they can avoid the covid vax and still work in a hospital is beyond me. I remember when the H1N1 was mandatory. The hospital didn't even give us a choice. They said they were coming around starting w ER and ICU. And if we didn't get it, we better have some fancy autoimmune disease w a doctor's note or we would be suspended.