MANDATORY

My hospital, which is widely considered the best hospital in Texas (and not just by those of us who work there), is planning to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory. I am very upset and frustrated by this decision. It is in essence forcing me to find a new job and a new hospital and the truth is I really love Houston Methodist Hospital. I have no doubt it is the best place to receive care in this city and state but I also am appalled by how little they care for personal autonomy or their own employees. 

Most people are probably saying..."what's wrong with the vaccine?" and the truth is I cannot tell you anything that is wrong with the vaccine. What I can tell you is that it was rushed into production, that it has been forced on the public, especially healthcare personnel, by people I do NOT trust and that the cognitive dissonance surrounding it, especially in relation to women of child-bearing age, pregnancy and breast feeding, make me deeply suspicious of it. 

Choose any medication, and I literally mean ANY medication and look it up in the Physician's Desk Reference, that venerable "book" known as the PDR where many of us in healthcare get information about the drugs we give. When you look up the drug that came to your mind there is a 99% probability that when you get to the information section titled Pregnancy it will start with the sentence "Adequate and well-controlled studies have not been performed in women receiving ______________ during pregnancy". Among healthcare professionals this is a widely known fact and yet the advice pregnant women are getting across the board is "take the vaccine". The American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology (ACOG) recommends that women who are pregnant get the vaccine in spite of the fact that their own website states...

Available Safety Information Related to the use of COVID-19 Vaccines in Pregnancy

Despite ACOG’s persistent advocacy for the inclusion of pregnant individuals in COVID-19 vaccine trials, none of the COVID-19 vaccines approved under EUA have been tested in pregnant individuals. However, studies in pregnant women have begun or are planned.    Retrieved 4/13/21 from https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-advisory/articles/2020/12/vaccinating-pregnant-and-lactating-patients-against-covid-19

I understand that Covid is real, I'm not denying that. I understand that for those who are at high risk for developing complications contracting it has the potential to be deadly. I also understand risk assessment, and personal responsibility. I am speaking as an individual here...my own risk is low and I am more than happy to be responsible for myself. I do not like being forced to take a vaccine that has only been approved using an EUA (Emergency Use Authorization). I think it is immoral, unethical and unAmerican! Houston Methodist Hospital should be ashamed of themselves.