Houston Methodist Hospital Suspends Staff Refusing Covid-19 Vaccine
Unvaccinated staff members have 14 days to start the Covid-19 vaccine or lose their job.
The Houston Methodist Hospital System announced the suspension of 178 staff members for failing to start the Covid-19 vaccine series. Over 99% of the hospital staff has begun or completed their vaccines, but the holdouts now find themselves suspended for the next 14 days without pay.
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.”
