One of the most prominent medical research facilities in the United States has let go hundreds of workers due to their refusal to get vaccinated.
The Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit treatment organization, announced Tuesday that it fired 700 employees for not complying with the medical research center’s vaccine requirement.
“While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors, and communities safe,” a spokesperson for Mayo Clinic told the Washington Examiner.
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The dismissed workers account for an estimated 1% of the clinic’s workforce of 73,000 employees. If those workers decide to get vaccinated, they can re-apply for employment at the company, officials said.
The clinic’s mandate inspired several former employees to protest outside the Rochester, Minnesota, clinic on Monday.
“You want me to get a vaccination that I fully don’t believe in, regardless of my reasons. Those reasons, those are reasons between me and my physician,” one protester told KTTC. “How dare my employer stick their nose in my medical business.”
The medical clinic said it has been accommodating exemption requests.
“The majority of medical and religious exemptions requests were approved,” Mayo Clinic told the outlet, including the exemptions requested by those protesting the clinic.
The protests received support from local politicians.
“Vaccines play an important part in our healthcare, but so does personal choice and autonomy,” state Rep. Peggy Bennett said.
Several hospitals throughout the U.S. have fired staff due to noncompliance with vaccine policies. Northwell Health, New York‘s largest health provider, announced that it fired 1,400 employees for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine in October. North Carolina-based Novant Health fired roughly 175 employees in September for not complying.
Other workers have quit their healthcare employers over the vaccine mandates. Hundreds of Michigan healthcare workers quit their jobs in October over the vaccine mandates.
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These firings have left leaders scrambling to fill shortages of hospital workers in several states. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order in September deploying the National Guard to fill any staffing shortfalls at hospitals in the state.
