Coronavirus in the USA: “I lost my job as a teacher for rejecting the covid vaccine”
Get vaccinated or lose your job.
It is the controversial ultimatum that US President Joe Biden urges US employers to give their staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Biden says that he will soon implement a mandate that requires all health workers to receive the prick, and asks the states of the North American country to demand the same from teachers.
In Concord, New Hampshire (New England, USA), it is surprising to see some attendees of a large anti-vaccine protest wearing hospital uniforms.
Leah Cushman is one of these people and she’s willing to lose her nursing job by not getting vaccinated.
“My beliefs are religious. The Creator endowed me with an immune system that protects me, and if I get sick, it is an act of God. I would not take a drug that affects the immune system, “he tells the BBC.
She denies that there is any conflict between these beliefs and her job responsibilities.
Cushman argues that the covid vaccines remain “experimental,” despite the fact that Pfizer’s vaccine has full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which means The agency believes that enough data has been collected to indicate that the medicine is safe and effective.
But she says that, in any case, she no longer gets any vaccinations.
Hospital managers who have already decided to impose vaccination mandates on their centers say they primarily seek make patients feel safes.
Scott Colby, executive director of Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital, acknowledges that he has lost several members of the medical staff to the vaccine’s mandate.
This happens at a time when the virus has become more active due to the delta variant and there is a backlog of procedures for cases not related to covid.
He considers the decision to require vaccination to be correct, in part because of serious coronavirus-related illnesses among staff, most likely among the unvaccinated, are an avoidable waste of resources.
He also says that some of the opposition to the vaccine is not based on purely medical or religious grounds; there is a political aspect.
Back at the protest, Leah Cushman, who in addition to being a registered nurse is a state representative of the Republican Party, says that her position also has to do with the “sovereign rights of medical professionals over our bodies.”
Other nurses order weekly tests instead of shots.
However, even the option of regular testing is unacceptable to many Americans who refuse to get vaccinated.
“It goes against my lifestyle”
Kahseim Outlaw just lost her job in Wallingford, Connecticut for not getting vaccinated.
He was named Teacher of the Year at his high school last year, but felt the vaccination mandate introduced by state authorities it was something that I could not fulfill.
“I do not use any type of synthetic ingredients in my life, whether for medicinal, supplementary or nutritional purposes. So the idea of getting vaccinated is something that goes directly against the way I live my life, “he told the BBC.
Like all teachers in the state, Outlaw was offered a weekly testing alternative, but said he viewed it as a “Unnecessary medical procedure” which was uncomfortable for him.
Outlaw says he would have been willing to run an antibody test to show that he contracted COVID-19 in the past, although he admits that it is not known how long a natural immune response lasts.
His boss didn’t give him that option.
In the classroom, Kahseim Outlaw would be in contact with the students, but what about those who work in complete isolation at home? Do their bosses have the right to demand that they get vaccinated?
“It is a personal attack; my work is 100% remote “
Rob Segrin lives near Mount Monadnock, in a remote part of rural New Hampshire, but has been told that he will lose his computer job if he has not received his first injection of the covid vaccine by the end of this month.
“My work is 100% remote,I work from home for a federal contractor. I never go into an office, I never interact with people, ”says Segrin.
“I am opposed to the vaccine because, in my opinion, not enough years have passed to study it, but I protect my family in the way that I can,” he continues.
“I felt that this order of ‘do this or you will lose your job’ it was a personal attack on me and my family. As if they wanted to attack my livelihood ”.
Segrin says her conversations with her boss so far have been unsuccessful and, as things stand, she will lose her full-time job and, as a result, her health insurance and family health benefits as well.
Across the United States, there were major inconsistencies in public policy related to the vaccine.
Republican states continue to fight vaccine mandates.
But as the United States grapples with discussions of personal liberties and public health, figures show the virus still takes its toll. almost 1,500 lives a day in that country.
Now you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them so you don’t miss out on our best content.
.
