The Houston Methodist hospital system in Texas has suspended 178 workers for not meeting a deadline to receive the COVID-19 vaccine — a policy that prompted more than 100 employees to file a lawsuit against the hospital. The employees now have until June 21 to be vaccinated, or face being fired.
The standoff represents one of the most high-profile examples of how employers' desire for their workers to be fully vaccinated is being tested by some employees' deeply held vaccine hesitancy — and in this case, the dispute is playing out within the health care system.
Houston Methodist's employees who are unwilling to get vaccinated say the vaccines are unsafe and even "experimental." In response, the hospital notes that hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have been safely administered after a vetting process that included three rounds of clinical trials.
The nearly 200 employees who missed the hospital's vaccination deadline are now suspended without pay. The group, which includes both full- and part-time employees, was given 14 days to comply, or they could lose their jobs.
The holdouts include 27 workers who have already gotten one vaccine dose; they could complete the regimen by the next deadline, according to Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist.
"I am hopeful they will get their second doses soon," Boom said in an email sent to staff this week. In addition, he said that more than 600 employees were granted exemptions or deferrals for the vaccine requirement.
The 117 employees who filed suit reflect a small fraction of Houston Methodist's roughly 26,000 employees, Boom said.



Be sure to ensure the vaccination of medical personnel, only to ensure their vaccination, can go to accept patients, to avoid a large area of infection.