At least 153 employees have been laid off or left their jobs at Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas (USA). The workers, who they had until June 7 to present the vaccination certificate, they refused to receive the coronavirus vaccines.
“Employees who did not meet the deadline given until Tuesday (to get vaccinated) have been fired as of today” Gale Smith, a hospital spokesman, said in a statement. On the other hand, the workers who did comply with the order returned to their post work immediately.
Last April, this hospital urged his employees to receive the vaccine and warned that those who did not have the certificate before June 7 would be suspended During two weeks. Jennifer Bridges, and another hundred nurses sued the center hospitable arguing that the demands to get the vaccine were illegal since they had only received authorization for emergency use from the US health authorities.
However, on June 12 Judge Lynn Hughes ruled against these healthcare workers, arguing that “Receiving a vaccine against covid-19 is not an illegal act and does not carry criminal penalties”. The judge also rejected the argument that vaccines are not safe, adding that, with this decision, the hospital “tries to do its job of saving lives.”
There were already layoffs in April
In April this hospital had already experienced a similar case, when it decided dispense with two managers who refused to get the punctures. Now in June 178 employees were suspended when day 7 they ran out of time to present the vaccination certificate certifying that they had received at least one dose of the vaccine. However, some of these workers have already returned to their jobs, and the number of layoffs stands at 153.
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