‘I’ll let them fire me before I get that injection’ Hospital staff protest vaccine mandate
By Hannah Mackenzie
Click here for updates on this story
HENDERSONVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — More than 100 people gathered outside Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville on Saturday to protest President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
In August, Pardee UNC Health Care announced they would require all staff to be vaccinated by Nov. 12, 2021 or submit to weekly testing.
Michaela Elliott, a surgery scheduler for Pardee Hospital, said getting vaccinated should be a personal choice.
“It’s not fair for me to have to sacrifice my job because I don’t want to do something that they want us to do,” Elliott said.
The federal mandate, with a deadline of Jan. 4, 2022, states businesses with over 100 employees, federal contractors and many health care workers would need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. It’s said to impact some 84 million Americans. However, a federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily halted the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement for businesses with 100 or more workers. The government must provide an expedited reply to the motion for a permanent injunction Monday, followed by petitioners’ reply on Tuesday.
“This is about government control,” said former Pardee Hospital employee, Hazel Keith. “It has nothing to do with the jab.”
Misty Frazier said Pardee leaders are making things difficult for employees who refuse to get vaccinated. The MRI technologist who has worked at the hospital for 15 years said it’s part of their tactic to wear employees down into submission.
“It’s not that I don’t choose to be vaccinated, it’s that I want freedom,” Frazier said. “I’ll let them fire me before I get that injection.”
Labor and delivery nurse, Brittany Walters, told News 13 she is not against vaccines but believes it’s up to her whether or not to get vaccinated.
“I’m not anti-vaccine whatsoever; I’m vaccinated in every other way,” Walters said. “I got my flu shot this week and I will continue to get my vaccines, and once the COVID-19 vaccine has been out and proven safe for longevity, I will sign up and get it.”
Walters said she is aware refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 could possibly lead to the end of her 3.5-year tenure with the hospital.
“It does worry me,” Walters said. “I went into nursing to care for people and care for my community and I’ll continue to do that. Unfortunately, it just might not be at Pardee Hospital.”
According to a press release from Pardee Hospital, their new policy also lets employees submit requests for medical or religious exemptions for the vaccination. The deadline for those requests is Nov. 12, 2021.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
