Many US healthcare systems require that employees are vaccinated against COVID-19.
Some nurses claim they would rather lose their job than receive the vaccine.
According to one nurse, she is concerned about the long-term effects.
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Many nurses choose to fire than get vaccinated against COVID-19 because hospitals and other localities require it.
According to The Washington Post, 20 nurses protested outside Winchester Medical Center in Virginia after Valley Health, the hospital's parent company, required that healthcare workers be vaccinated.
Some signs said, "NO FORCED VACINATION."
Some nurses in Oregon told the Salem Reporter that they would rather have their jobs when the state's vaccination mandate takes effect on October 18.
Another example: The Ohio Nurses Association reported that as many as 30% could quit nursing in Cincinnati over mandated vaccines.
Valley Health employees are fully vaccinated for 75%, but others stated to the Post that they believe the vaccines pose more risks than COVID-19.
Brittany Watson (a Winchester Medical Center behavioral health nurse), told the Post that "we are not anti-vax." "We have all the vaccines you receive as a child, but they have been around for many decades. This one is a bit different. There's so much propaganda about it. It makes no sense."
According to Northeastern University data, 27% of healthcare workers in the country are not vaccinated.
Kristi Winn is a Salem Health nurse who told the Salem Reporter she was vaccinated, but she still disagrees with the mandate for vaccines and that she wishes she had more time to reflect on her decision.
Winn said that she was also concerned by the way unvaccinated persons are judged. This includes healthcare workers who complain about hospitals being overcrowded with unvaccinated patients.
"To see the judgment that has been placed on these individuals who have made these decisions, I don't believe that people should smoke. Winn stated that he doesn't like a lot what people do to their bodies.
Some nurses remain skeptical about the long-term health effects of COVID-19 vaccinations. However, those who are working to mandate policies, such as Jeffrey Feit at Valley Health, a community and populace health officer, told The Post that he hosted town halls to answer employees' questions with "verified evidence."
Feit stated that the mandate was also put in place to ensure patient safety. Feit said that patients called the hospital to inquire if their provider had been vaccinated. He stated that hospital-acquired infection rates must be controlled by administrators.
Feit stated, "If people decide not to get vaccinated, despite the evidence, the advice we've given, and the information that we've shared with them, and they choose leave Valley Health, or to leave health care, then we are sorry they're leaving." We respect their choices. That's an option people have. We accept that. Our choice must be to ensure safety for our patients.
