More than 150 Houston Methodist Hospital employees were officially out of a job Tuesday, 10 days after a judge dismissed a lawsuit against the hospital by employees who opposed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a condition of employment, a hospital spokesperson said.

Mandated COVID-19 Vaccination

After a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the employees against Houston Methodist Hospital, the spokesperson of the hospital said that 10 days after the decision, more than 150 employees had already left the medical facility for opposing the mandated COVID-19 vaccination.

Houston Methodist Hospital spokesperson, Gale Smith, confirmed that 153 employees either resigned during their two-week suspension period which began June 8, or were terminated Tuesday. The suspension is part of their vaccination program as employees are considered to get the vaccine as a condition of employment imposed by the Houston Methodist.

According to East Idaho News, Smith shared in an email Tuesday night that employees who have complied with the mandatory vaccination policy of the hospital during the suspension period were retained. Those vaccinated were able to return to their work the day after they became compliant.

Moreover, based on the initial announcement made by Houston Methodist CEO, Marc Boom, on March 31, the medical facility became the first major health care system in the United States to have mandated COVID-19 vaccination. The hospital started the vaccination with their managers.

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Refused to be Experimented

More than a hundred Houston Methodist Hospital employees joined in the filed lawsuit, claiming that the vaccines were experimental and dangerous, CBS News reported. The employees also emphasized that it would be wrongful to terminate their employees after they have refused to get the COVID-19 vaccines.

Houston Methodist clarified that the claims of the employees were not true. The hospital stated that their employees were protected under Texas law only if they refuse to commit a criminal act that carries criminal penalties.

Meanwhile, the three vaccines used in the U.S. currently have all emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, but they do not have yet full FDA approval. Employees had to get the COVID-19 vaccine by June 7 based on the mandate.

When asked directly, the Houston Methodist Hospital stated that it did not have the information regarding how many of its employees have resigned and how many were fired. Boom mentioned earlier this month that 24,947 employees were fully vaccinated. The Houston Methodist Hospital CEO also said that the hospital had reached almost full compliance with the mandate, with only fewer than 200 employees remaining suspended for not yet complying with the mandated COVID-19 vaccination.

On the other hand, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in December stated that companies can legally mandate all of its employees who would be re-entering their workplace and new hires to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The only exceptions that would be allowed not to have the vaccination are individuals with disabilities and those people who have concerns and reasons based on religion, Houston Chronicle reported.

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