Houston hospital's vaccine requirement draws lawsuit from 100-plus employees

HOUSTON - More than 100 employees of a Texas hospital are suing their employer for requiring them to get vaccinated. 

The lawsuit against Houston Methodist, filed Friday, says the coronavirus vaccine, which it called "experimental," makes them feel like "guinea pigs," adding that employees should have the right to opt against the vaccine without "force, deceit, fraud, threat, solicitation, or any type of binding or coercion," FOX 26 in Houston reported. 

Attorney Jared R. Woodfill, who is representing the employees, said the mandate - over threat of termination - is a violation of the World War II-era Nuremberg Code, which set ethical standards against human experimentation.

 

Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, said 99% of the hospital’s employees have received the vaccine, KPRC-TV reported. 

"We are extremely proud of our employees for doing the right thing and protecting our patients from this deadly virus. As health care workers, it is our sacred obligation to do whatever we can to protect our patients, who are the most vulnerable in our community," Boom said, according to FOX 26. "It is unfortunate that the few remaining employees who refuse to get vaccinated and put our patients first are responding in this way."

He said Texas law allows for hospitals to mandate vaccines for employees as they have with the flu vaccine for the last 11 years. 

Boom added the coronavirus vaccines "have proven through rigorous trials to be very safe and very effective and are not experimental. More than 165 million people in the U.S. alone have received vaccines against COVID-19, and this has resulted in the lowest numbers of infections in our country and in the Houston region in more than a year," KPRC reported. 

(Photo by Wolfgang Kumm/picture alliance via Getty Images)

President Biden said Friday that 62% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine with about a month to go before his July 4 goal of hitting 70%.

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