“There are so many” What’s up? “over here,” said a nurse who wanted to remain anonymous. “June 7 is the deadline. It’s ‘get the vaccine’ or ‘pack up.'”
The nurse initiated a petition in hopes of excusing the mandatory vaccine requirement for all Houston Methodist staff.
“We’re not saying we’ll never get it, we just want more time,” the nurse said. “We want more research. We want it approved by the FDA, thoroughly, before we put it in our body.”
He said right now, a group of staff at his hospital are too scared to receive the vaccine, but are even more concerned about losing their jobs. They believe the vaccine should be a choice.
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“I’m basically fighting for everyone who is too scared to talk right now,” he said.
Meanwhile, legal analyst Steve Shellist frankly said nurses don’t have many rights, especially during a pandemic. He said the law is quite clear and the only exceptions include religious or health reasons.
“The hospital has a right to say,‘ If you are in close contact with patients and other medical providers, you should get a vaccine and if not, you will not work here. ’” He explained.
The president and CEO of Houston Methodist, Dr. Marc Boom, said they owe it to their patients to put them first and make them feel safe, so the vaccine is 100% mandatory. Boom said the hospital upholds its decision and believes it is 100% safe and the best option.
Houston Methodist celebrated recently a city council for its employees with the aim of alleviating fears and answering questions.
“Working in health care is a privilege,” Boom said. “With privilege comes responsibility.”
As for the nurse, she said she takes the job seriously, but only wants to take the vaccine according to her conditions when she is ready.
“If someone wants to hire a good nurse, I’d like to take on another job,” she said.
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