Missouri Nurse Fired From Job For Refusing To Get Flu Shot

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Protesters gathered outside of Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis on Monday after one nurse at the facility was fired due to her refusal to be vaccinated due to religious reasons

Nelia Aubuchon, who organized the protest, said that the nurse was terminated after she violated the hospital's policy that requires employees to receive a flu shot.

The nurse was granted a religious exemption from the yearly flu shot while working for the St. Anthony's Medical Center prior to it being acquired by Mercy.

Mercy, whose flu shot policy took effect in 2016, implemented its policy that requires all employees to get flu vaccination when it acquired St. Anthony's Medical Center earlier this year.

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"Requiring health care co-workers to be vaccinated for the flu is a best practice across the U.S. to ensure the safety of patients, co-workers and community members," Mercy said in a statement.

"Mercy revised our flu vaccination policy several years ago and requires compliance with the policy by all Mercy co-workers as a condition of employment"

Mercy Hospital South is not the only hospital that requires staff to get vaccinated. More than two-thirds of hospitals in the United States require their employees to get flu shot.

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