BRYAN, Ohio — Some staff at Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers in Bryan feel it should be their choice whether or not they get vaccinated.
Over a dozen hospital staff members, including nurses, showed up to a rally at the hospital on Sunday to protest the recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services vaccine mandate.
"To force us to have something that we do not want is not the answer. You're going to be short-staffed even more in these hospitals," explained Sarah Pettit, who is a nurse at the hospital. "Your communities are going to hurt because they don't have the appropriate staff to take care of the community."
Pettit said just over 40% of the employees there are not vaccinated. Some because of religious or medical reasons. Others because they don't believe it's safe and effective.
"The word 'safe' around it I believe has been used as a shield to further push it, even though the evidence is not showing that it is providing safer environments or lesser transmission," said Brooke Gordon, the founder of Northwest Ohio Medical Freedom.
The CDC reports all three COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing the virus.
When asked about how medical staff can keep themselves and their patients safe in the hospital, Pettit said there are ways to do that without the vaccine.
"I think with diligent hand washing and masking and doing everything that we can to protect our patients, will help our patients and our community get better," said Pettit.
The hospital's CEO, released a statement saying they were aware of the protest happening and respect every person's right to freedom of speech.
The statement read, in part: "We strongly encourage all appropriate community members to get the COVID-19 vaccine to help curb the spread of the virus, as our resources to take care of our community are being strained by the influx of COVID-19 patients."
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