Houston nurse says she was fired for refusing COVID vaccine
More than 150 workers at Houston Methodist Hospital resigned or were fired after refusing to get the COVID vaccine. One of the fired nurses, Jennifer Bridges, and her attorney, Jared Woodfill, discussed her case on 'Hannity.'
More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement.
Jennifer Bridges, a registered nurse who is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against Houston Methodist Hospital, said her director called her Tuesday to ask if she'd gotten the vaccine yet or made any effort to do so. She said that when she replied "absolutely not," she was told that she was terminated.
Bridges told "Hannity" on Wednesday that she chose to forego the vaccine because she possessed natural immunity after contracting the coronavirus last summer.
"I had COVID last summer, I don't need that vaccine, and Methodist did not care about that, that was not an option at all," she said.
HOUSTON HOSPITAL WORKERS FIRED, RESIGN OVER COVID-19 VACCINE
"We worked so hard last year," Bridges added. "I mean, we were there through thick and thin when we had no help… it was horrible. And these people that are putting forth these rules right now for us and kicking us to the curb, they weren't there. They weren't even in the building to be seen for months. They were staying at home while we were doing all the work."
A spokesperson for Houston Methodist Hospital system said 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension period or were terminated on Tuesday.
The Houston Methodist employees who filed the lawsuit likened their situation to medical experiments performed on unwilling victims in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes called that comparison "reprehensible" and said claims made in the lawsuit that the vaccines are experimental and dangerous are false.
Bridges' attorney, who joined her for the Fox News segment, told host Sean Hannity that "for the first time in the history of our country, we have an employer saying to their employees, as a condition of employment, you have to participate in a vaccine trial, you have to take an experimental vaccine.
"We think this is completely inconsistent with the law, both federal statutes and the code of federal regulations," he said, " but I think what makes this even more egregious, is that folks like Jennifer, the heroes I represent were on the front line at the height of the pandemic, they were the individuals we celebrated and as a result of their service. She contracted COVID-19. She recovered and recuperated…but here we are today, Methodist Hospital said, 'Oh, you wouldn't submit or participate in our vaccine trial, here's your pink slip sentencing her to bankruptcy,' and that's just plain wrong and that's why we're standing up."
Bridges believes the hospital is pursuing "their own agenda."
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"I do not know exactly why they're doing this," she said. "I can only assume it could be for a power [grab] or [they're] money hungry right now, but they need to follow the proper science because we do not need to be vaccinated if we had COVID."
Earlier this month, a federal judge threw out the lawsuit filed by Bridges and 116 of her colleagues over the requirement. The hospital system's decision in April to require the vaccine for workers made it the first major U.S. health care system to do so.
The case has already been sent to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.