No vaccine, no job at Houston Methodist

Thousands of hesitant workers risk being fired

Four out of five Houston Methodist employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. The sliver who are not will be suspended or fired if they refuse the shot, according to company policy.

The hospital required managers to be vaccinated by April 15 and all other employees — about 26,000 workers in total — by June 7, said Stefanie Asin, a Houston Methodist spokesperson.

With 84 percent of the staff vaccinated, the hospital is close to herd immunity, CEO Marc Boom wrote in a letter to employees this month.

“As health care workers we’ve taken a sacred oath to do everything possible to keep our patients

safe and healthy — this includes getting vaccinated,” Boom wrote.

A little more than 4,100 employees have not received at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The hospital does not know yet how many employees potentially will be suspended or terminated because of the mandatory vaccination policy.

Since 2009, a hospital policy has mandated its workers receive the flu vaccine each year, unless they have a medical or religious objection qualifying them for exemption.

Some workers expect to be let go because they won’t sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment yet. Bob Nevens, Houston Methodist’s director of corporate risk and insurance, told the Houston Press that he was suspended for two weeks without pay and expects to be let go this month.

Jennifer Bridges, a nurse at Houston Methodist Hospital in Baytown, said she would take the vaccine once it’s fully approved by the FDA, which could take years.

“We’re not against the vaccine, we just want to be more comfortable with this one and have thorough research out before we take it,” Bridges said. “When patients get care, they have the right to refuse treatment, but we’re not allowed that same exemption.”

She circulated a petition protesting the mandate addressed to Boom, whom she said did not respond.

“If you want the vaccine, that is great, but it should be your choice. It should not be forced into your body if you are not comfortable with it,” reads the Change.org petition, which has drawn more than 2,500 signatures.

Several nursing homes in Houston are requiring COVID-19 vaccinations of their workers, while other hospitals in the Texas Medical Center have not yet followed suit.

“UTMB is not mandating vaccination,” said Christopher Smith Gonzalez, senior communication specialist for the hospital. “But, in view of the high contagiousness of the some of the SARS-CoV-2 variants, UTMB has implemented enhanced respiratory precautions for all unvaccinated individuals caring for or evaluating patients for COVID.”

While 80 percent of Texas Children’s Hospital employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, the hospital does not require inoculation. St. Luke’s Health has vaccinated “thousands of our staff,” vaccinations are not mandatory, according to the health system.

Mandate considered

But some are considering it to cut back on health hazards for employees and patients.

“As a provider of health care services, Baylor College of Medicine currently requires vaccination for employees for a variety of infectious diseases,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, senior vice president of Baylor College of Medicine. “For example, flu vaccination for employees has been mandatory for several years. With appropriately defined exemptions (medical contraindications, religious beliefs), we support mandatory vaccination for COVID-19. We do not yet have this requirement in place, but it is under active consideration.”

Memorial Hermann will make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory after it relaxes some of its COVID-19 protocols, such as mask-wearing and social distancing. However, it has not set a deadline for employees to receive the vaccine, said Drew Munhausen, a Memorial Hermann spokesperson.

The three vaccines available to the public as of April are authorized for emergency use, meaning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has evaluated the available clinical trial data for potential benefits and risks and OK’d the treatment because there is no approved alternative. Drug manufacturers must submit safety data as part of the emergency use request.

There is no timeline for how long it will take the FDA to issue a full approval.

Texas law mandates that health care facilities have a policy regarding vaccinations, but does not require health care personnel to receive specific vaccines.

There is no clear-cut federal policy on the books, but the U.S. government cannot mandate vaccines. It leaves it up to the employer or school.

“Everyone who hasn’t had it is terrified of retaliation,” Bridges said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination of health care professionals is “essential to reduce the risk of symptomatic COVID-19, as is the continued focus on infection prevention and control practices.”

An unvaccinated health care worker in March caused a COVID-19 outbreak at a Kentucky nursing home, according to an April CDC report. The coronavirus variant was “newly introduced to the region.”

A majority of the home’s residents were vaccinated and did not develop symptoms or require hospitalization, but one vaccinated resident died as a result of the outbreak. Two unvaccinated residents also died, the CDC reported. Even with masks and other COVID-19 protocols, more than 25 nursing home residents and 20 workers were infected.

“Unvaccinated residents and health care personnel had 3 and 4.1 times the risk of infection as did vaccinated residents and health care personnel,” the CDC reported. “Vaccine was 86.5 percent protective against symptomatic illness among residents, and 87.1 percent protective among health care personnel.”

Vaccine hesitancy among health care workers is still high. Just over half of front-line health care workers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study released in March by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The number is slightly higher among those who work in hospitals and outpatient clinics, at 66 and 64 percent respectively.

Curbing trauma

Teal Riley, nursing director of Houston Methodist’s ICU, was among the first clinicians in line for a COVID-19 vaccine when they arrived at the hospital. Riley and her husband are both nurses, and with kids at home, they considered the extra level of protection a no-brainer.

“When I was doing my own research on the vaccine data with my demographic and age, it was convincing enough for me to decide I was going to get it,” she told the Houston Chronicle. Houston Methodist already mandates flu and tuberculosis vaccines, so it did not come as a surprise to her when administrators made it a condition of employment.

Houston Methodist was one of several companies to offer incentives for its workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The hospital is granting $500 bonuses to anyone who worked during the pandemic and received the vaccine.

“Already we’re seeing positive results as the number of employee infections has dropped inversely with the number of employees receiving the vaccine,” Boom wrote.

The email from Boom went out last Thursday, giving workers five weeks to book at least the first shot.

Bridges, the Baytown nurse, said she’s heard from employees across the system who are panicked at the idea of losing their jobs during a recession. Some are considering the vaccine just to keep their paychecks.

When vaccines were first made available to health care workers, some clinical professionals rushed to immunize. Carlos Martinez, a physical and occupational therapy technician at Houston Methodist, told the Chronicle in December that he was eager to sign up for a vaccine after experiencing the trauma of caring for so many sick patients.

“I was running into these life stories and it really started to wear on me,” Martinez said at the time. “I mean, how could you not believe this? These people aren’t putting on an act, you know, they’re really sick.”

Riley, the nursing director, said she can count on one hand the number of employees she manages who have not received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

For their staff, it isn’t just a matter of protection at work — it’s also about curbing the trauma of caring for patients who may not make it out of intensive care. The benefits, to her, outweigh the risks.

“It gives you a sense of hope,” Riley said. “This is all we have to look forward to right now.”