Workers fired
And so it begins... A healthcare system has literally fired 50 employees - in one fell swoop - over a draconian flu jab policy.

They can't fire us all if we stand up, right? That might be the inner wishful thinking of those who refuse vaccinations while working in the healthcare system.

But as WGN9 reports:
A Minnesota-based health system has fired about 50 employees who refused to get a flu shot.

Essentia Health announced last month that employees would be required to get vaccinated for influenza unless they received a religious or medical exemption.
The system claimed that it was trying to "keep patients from getting sick at its 15 hospitals and 75 clinics in Minnesota, Idaho, North Dakota and Wisconsin."

From WGN9:
Essentia says 99 percent of the company's 13,900 eligible employees had gotten the shot, received an exemption or were getting an exemption by the Monday deadline.

The United Steelworkers filed an injunction to try to delay the policy, but a federal judge denied the request. Minnesota Public Radio reports at least two other unions are filing grievances on behalf of workers who lost their jobs.
How do you know when something is truly for the benefit of the people? Why, when you are forced to choose it or lose your entire livelihood, of course!

We'd like to point out that we have heard from workers in other healthcare systems who are being forced to get shots or either lose their jobs or wear masks for over four months of the year. Please remember that it is not just nurses and doctors who are being coerced, but support assistance workers and other department workers in the hospital systems.

Obviously, no one should be forced to take into their bodies any substance or face losing everything. Although the system enforcing these mandates claims it's for public health, this cannot be the case considering the almost complete lack of efficacy of flu vaccines. (See the Cochrane Collaboration's review.)

The hospital systems could protect their patients better by cutting down on preventable medical errors which are the third leading cause of death in the U.S.! They could come up with reasonable methods to prevent superbugs and antibiotic resistance among their vulnerable patients.

We hope that all the unions fighting any healthcare systems using these seriously violating policies go all the way and win back basic rights for these employees.