On September 14th it was reported by KNAU that Northern Arizona Healthcare employees would be mandated to get vaccinated against Covid-19. This includes Verde Valley Medical Center.
It appears as though many are not happy about this development and have rallied against it by protesting in person. Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers (R) made an appearance to support their freedom of choice.
Arizona has banned vaccine mandates but it appears there is an exception for healthcare facilities.
“Was glad to stand in support of NO VACCINE MANDATES outside the Cottonwood Hospital – Verde Valley Medical Center with these patriots who are speaking out on their rights!”
— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) October 7, 2021
Many nurses, doctors, and staff have lost their jobs around the nation because they did not want to get the vaccine for one reason or another, and did not get approved for an exemption. While we take healthcare seriously, it seems to us as a bad move for hospitals to fire their staff when many are already facing staff shortages.
In fact, some hospitals are overcapacity simply because they don’t have enough staff. Despite this, many continue to fire unvaccinated staff anyway. A hospital system in the Boise, ID area had to reverse their mandate because they were so short on staff and after many protested about the mandates, as we reported on here.
It remains to be seen what happens with the situation in Arizona. Employees have until 12/31/2021 to be “fully” vaccinated.
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