Houston Methodist Hospital suspended nearly 200 employees for not complying with its COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
Marc Boom, the president CEO of the hospital, told employees in an email obtained by the Washington Examiner that 178 employees declined to take the COVID-19 vaccination and were not granted religious or medical exemptions.
Boom excoriated the employees who declined to take the vaccination, writing that they “have decided not to put their patients first.”
The announcement was sent to staff on Tuesday, the organization’s deadline for its self-imposed vaccine mandate. The employees who were not granted waivers were suspended for 14 days without pay.
Employees have the 14-day suspension period to comply with the vaccine mandate, or they will be terminated.
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More than 29,000 hospital staff members at Houston Methodist have been vaccinated, and the organization granted waivers or deferrals to more than 500 employees requesting religious or medical accommodation for deferrals for pregnancy or “other reasons.”
Amanda Rivera, an emergency room nurse, said she felt “betrayed” by the hospital.
“It was crazy during the pandemic. We were short-staffed, overcapacity with patients. It was just a lot. For them to come and do this is like a slap in the face,” Rivera told a local TV station. “I feel like they kind of bullied us into this little corner like, ‘You have to do it, or else you don’t have a job.'”
Labor and delivery nurse Kara Shepherd also slammed the hospital for treating her as “disposable.”
“All last year, through the COVID pandemic, we came to work and did our jobs. We did what we were asked. This year, we’re basically told we’re disposable.”
More than 115 employees are fighting back against the mandate, alleging in a lawsuit that the hospital’s vaccine requirement is “in direct violation” of federal law. A court denied the group’s first request for a temporary restraining order,
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said last month that employers can make vaccination a requirement of continued employment.
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Under the Emergency Use Authorization provision of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 2004, every person receiving a vaccine must be informed “of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, of the consequences, if any, of refusing administration of the product.”
This provision has not yet been interpreted by the courts, and legal experts are divided on whether mandating a vaccine that has not been fully approved by the FDA is legal.
