New Jersey Hospital System INCREASES six senior health workers who refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19

New Jersey’s largest hospital system fired six senior health workers because they refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

RWJBarnabas Health, which has 11 acute care hospitals across Garden State, announced the news in a statement on Wednesday.

In May, the private company demanded that all staff at “supervisory level or above” be fully immunized by June 30.

In Wednesday’s statement – which was first obtained by ABC News – RWJBarnabas Health said a “vast majority” of staff had complied with the order.

“As of July 14, 2,979 staff members, or 99.7%, who are at supervisor level and above, have been fully immunized or have received medical and religious exemptions or reprieve,” the company said.

“Unfortunately, six staff at supervisor level and above did not meet the mandate and are no longer employees of RWJBH, in accordance with our policy.”

The identities of the six workers were not disclosed.

RWJBarnabas Health is New Jersey’s largest private employer, with more than 35,000 employees, many of whom do not work directly with sick patients.

But the company now says it intends to require all hospital staff to be vaccinated. He will announce a vaccination deadline for these employees “in the coming days”.

Meanwhile, other private hospital systems in New Jersey do not enforce the same rules.

Atlantic Health System, which serves 11 counties in New Jersey, told NJ.com that it “gives workers the option to vaccinate or not.” The company said most chose to do so.

“To date, over 75% of Atlantic Health System team members have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and that’s without requiring our team members to receive it,” a company executive told the publication on July 1.

The move has divided community members, with many fearing that they will contract the highly contagious Indian delta variant of COVID-19 if they come in contact with an unvaccinated doctor or nurse while receiving treatment for a problem. unconnected.

Cases of COVID in New Jersey are increasing as the variant spreads. The state reported 669 new cases of COVID on Wednesday, a 165% increase from just two weeks ago.

Gov. Phil Murphy says a large majority of people who test positive are not vaccinated.

“We have probably 350 people in our hospital,” he told NBC on Wednesday.

“I dare say they are not all vaccinated… Variants are everywhere in our state. I would urge people to get vaccinated, and if they do, that doesn’t mean you can’t get COVID. But that means, overwhelmingly, that you are going to stay out of the hospital and please God stay alive.

As of Wednesday, 58% of New Jersey residents were fully immunized against the coronavirus.

But while vaccines can be effective in preventing transmission and serious illness, many across the country say it’s wrong for companies to force their employees to get vaccinated – even though this company is in the business. health.

In May, 117 unvaccinated employees of the Houston Methodist Hospital System filed a lawsuit against the Texas healthcare company after asking workers to be vaccinated.

The complaint read: “Methodist Hospital requires its employees to be human ‘guinea pigs’ as a condition of continued employment.”

He also claimed that the vaccines mandate “requires the employee to undergo medical experimentation as a prerequisite for feeding his family.”

However, the U.S. District Judge dismissed the lawsuit last month, saying, “Methodist is trying to do its job of saving lives without giving them the COVID-19 virus.”

“It’s a choice made to ensure the safety of staff, patients and their families. Bridges [an employee who filed the lawsuit] can freely choose to accept or refuse a COVID-19 vaccine; however, if she refuses, she will simply have to work elsewhere.