Jennifer Bridges and 116 other plaintiffs claimed Houston Methodist Hospital was forcing its employees to get COVID vaccines that are “experimental and dangerous.” Firing employees for refusing the vaccine is “wrongful termination,” the plaintiffs said.

We should point out that although millions of Americans have already been vaccinated against Covid, the vaccines remain classified as EUA medicines (Emergency Use Authorization) and under Federal law cannot be mandated.

Houston Methodist suspended nearly 200 employees last week who had refused the vaccine.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes said in his ruling that Texas law only protects employees from being fired if they are asked to commit an illegal act that carries criminal penalties. According to the judge’s ruling,

“receiving a covid vaccination is not an illegal act, and it carries no criminal penalties.”

The plaintiffs argued that requiring employees to get the COVID vaccine violates federal law because the vaccines have not received full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are still Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) products.

Judge Hughes dismissed this claim, saying the law authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to roll out “medical products intended for use in an emergency.”

Hughes said:

“The law confers certain powers and responsibilities to the Secretary of Health and Human Services in an emergency. It neither expands nor restricts the responsibilities of private employers; in fact, it does not apply at all to private employers like the hospital in this case. It does not confer a private opportunity to sue the government, employer, or worker.”

In his ruling, Hughes said, claims that the vaccines are dangerous are “false, and it is also irrelevant.”

According to Our World in Data, the global covid vaccine drive has delivered the following results;

20.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
2.4 billion doses have been administered globally, and 33.1 million are now administered each day.
Only 0.8% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.

Again, it should be stressed that the issue here isn’t about the immediate safety of the covid vaccine. That has been established beyond doubt. All the Covid vaccines carry a very, very minimal risk of side effects. The issue revolves around the long-term effects of the vaccines being undetermined.

We cannot know what we haven’t yet had time to study or assess.

The Texas ruling means employees of Houston Medical must provide proof of being vaccinated for COVID or lose their jobs.

Dr. Marc Boom, CEO, and president of Houston Methodist said in a statement:

“…99 percent of Houston Methodist’s 26,000 employees have met the requirements for the vaccination mandate. It is unfortunate that the few remaining employees who refuse to get vaccinated and put our patients first are responding in this way.”

Jared Woodfill, an attorney representing Bridges and other plaintiffs, said his clients are “committed to fighting this unjust policy.”

Woodfill told Fox News, Houston Methodist is using the covid vaccine mandate to promote profits. The hospital is trying to convince patients to leave their healthcare provider and come to Houston Methodist because all of its employees are vaccinated, said Woodfill.

“The problem with that line of thinking,” said Woodfill, “is that you’re telling the hospital’s employees they are going to be human guinea pigs.” For the plaintiffs, “this is a question of being able to pay their house notes, pay their car notes, provide for their families and avoid bankruptcy,” said Woodfill. “It’s just plain wrong.”

This ruling will no doubt provide other companies and employers the green light to start mandating Covid vaccines for their own staff. The federal government has been skirting around the issue, choosing to defer to individual state decisions.

Judge Hughes may just have pushed Washington into a corner, as more claims will no doubt arise from the consequences of his judgment. Remember his name, it’s going to be cropping up a lot in the months to come.

The post Texas Judge Makes Covid Vaccines Mandatory in Texas. Vaccinate or be Fired appeared first on Medika Life.

Back in March, Houston Methodist Chief Executive Officer Dr. Marc Boom notified the staff via email that the health system required all staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19. At that time, The Houston Methodist Health System was the first US hospital to require all staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19. In April, the Methodist system issued a June 7 deadline to begin the vaccination series or face termination.

June 7 arrived, and CEO Dr. Marc Bloom stays true to his word by suspending the medical staff members who did not comply with the hospital Covid-19 vaccine policy. Houston Methodist has already vaccinated almost all of its 26,000 employees. Blooms statement to Axios revealed 285 staff members were granted a “medical or religious exemption, and 332 were granted deferrals for pregnancy.”

Under the current policy, pregnant people may choose to wait until after delivery to start the Covid-19 vaccine series. Of note, multiple studies now show Covid-19 vaccines in pregnancy are safe for mom and baby.

In the meantime, Houston Methodist is embroiled in a lawsuit over the mandate. One hundred seventeen employees claim the Covid-19 vaccine violates their rights under the Nuremberg Code. The Nurenberg Code is not a law but rather a set of medical ethics designed to protect human subjects voluntarily participating in clinical trials.

Ethicists developed the Nurenberg Code 70 years ago after Nazi atrocities came to light, proving doctors at the Auschwitz concentration camp performed medical experiments on Jewish prisoners without their consent.

Although Houston Methodist was the first hospital to require Covid-19 vaccinations, hospital-required vaccines are nothing new. The CDC already recommends multiple vaccinations for healthcare workers. The recommendations apply to physicians, nurses, emergency medical personnel, dental professionals and students, medical and nursing students, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, hospital volunteers, and administrative staff.

Hospital staff in the US are required to get vaccinated against currently include Hepatitis B, Influenza, MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella), Varicella, and Tdap (Tetanus, Diptheria, Pertussis). Most hospitals also require annual tuberculosis risk assessments. Hospitals also monitor physician and nurse hand washing and hygiene to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

Hospitals do not require these vaccines as a means of controlling health providers or imposing on their lives. Instead, hospitals require specific vaccinations to lower the risk of hospital-acquired infections. Vaccinations protect hospital staff from infectious disease exposure and reduce the risk of a healthcare worker transmitting an infectious disease to a hospitalized patient.

Covid-19 vaccines have proven to be highly effective at reducing the risk for healthcare workings and first responders. The CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published information on healthcare worker vaccine safety and efficacy back in March 2021. This update analyzed Covid-19 vaccines in a real-world setting. The findings showed the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 infections among healthcare personnel, first responders, and other essential frontline workers.

Vaccinating healthcare workers reduces the risk of spreading the infection from health providers to patients.

Outside of healthcare, our Government already requires proof of vaccination for many diseases before people enter the United States. The US Government began requiring “Certificate of vaccination” cards to travel in and out of certain countries in 1959. Many countries require US citizens show proof of a yellow fever vaccine before they are allowed to enter.

The Houston Methodist Health System vaccine requirements create a potential clash between State and Federal law.

On April 16, Governor Greg Abbott issued an Executive Order prohibiting state agencies or political subdivisions in Texas from creating a “vaccine passport” requirement. On June 7, Abbott signed S.B. 968 into law banning businesses from requiring vaccine passports. Under this law, it is now illegal for any company in Texas to require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations to engage in business.

Updated guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicates employers may require vaccination stating “Federal EEO laws do not prevent an employer from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19, so long as employers comply with the reasonable accommodation provisions of the ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other EEO considerations.”

Many businesses are concerned that Abbott’s increase in governmental regulation impinges on the rights and freedoms of individual business owners. Governor Abbott has signed a series of recent legislation limiting individual rights and liberty.

Under SB 968, Texas business owners no longer have the right to determine a safe way to reopen their businesses. Instead, Governor Abbott has determined the Texas Government should decide what is best for each company.

Governor Abbott’s government control transcends business and entrepreneurship. The Governor has also expanded the Government’s control over healthcare. Abbott signed SB 8, which banned abortion in Texas after six weeks of gestation. This bill, known as the “heartbeat ban,” removes the rights of pregnant people to control what happens to their bodies even if they were the victims of incest or rape.

The Houston Methodist vaccine policy will be a test of our legal system.

Mandating Covid-19 vaccination in hospital workers appears to violate Texas SB 968, but the requirements seem to comply with Federal guidelines. Time will tell if Houston Methodist’s efforts to protect healthcare workers and prevent hospital-acquired infections will stand up in court.

The post Houston Methodist Hospital Suspends Staff Who Refuse to Get a Covid-19 Vaccine appeared first on Medika Life.