Background

117 employees of Houston Methodist Hospital challenged their employer’s demand that all staff should be vaccinated or be terminated by June 7 2021.

Significance

The Hospital is the first Business in the US to make this demand. As of the time of this trial the 3 vaccines currently in use from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, have only emergency approval and have not yet been approved by the FDA.

According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System the Data released Friday (June 11 2021) showed 262,521 reports of adverse events following COVID vaccines, including 4,406 deaths and 21,537 serious injuries between Dec. 14, 2020 and May 21, 2021. -3

Plaintiff’s Argument

• Jennifer Bridges the main plaintiff argued that the vaccine was still experimental, that more testing was needed and that therefore she did not feel comfortable taking it. She further said that she did not want to be a “guinea pig”

• Jared Woodfill, the Attorney for the plaintiffs said the Hospital mandate “is a severe and blatant violation of the Nuremberg Code and the public policy of the state of Texas.” -3 The Nuremberg Code was created in 1947 in response to the forced medical experimentation of the Nazi regime against concentration camp prisoners” -3

• Dr Peter McCullough in an interview with the Corona-Ausschuss stated that he will be a scientific witness for the doctors and staff who oppose the forced vaccinations -4

Defendant’s Argument

Dr. Marc Boom, the hospital’s CEO said that the flu vaccine has been a requirement for employees since 2009, making their covid vaccination demand legal. Further more the Hospital deemed the vaccine proven safe.

“The COVID-19 vaccines have proven through rigorous trials to be very safe and very effective and are not experimental. More than 165 million people in the U.S. alone have received vaccines against COVID-19, and this has resulted in the lowest numbers of infections in our country and in the Houston region in more than a year,” he said. “As health care workers, it is our sacred obligation to do whatever we can to protect our patients, who are the most vulnerable in our community. It is our duty and our privilege.”-1

Other

Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also altered their rules to allow for mandated covid vaccinations by employers. this was not the case previously for emergency use drugs which the vaccine still is (at the time of this case).

“The new rules suggest employers could require their staffers physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID so long as they make accommodations for an employee’s disability and religious beliefs. However, those employees who don’t get vaccinated must wear a mask, socially distance or change their schedules.” -3

Decision

• Judge Hughes, a Reagan appointee, ruled in favor of the hospital, rejecting the comparison to Nazi Germany as well as the notion that the vaccine was still “experimental”
  

  “Equating the injection requirement to medical experimentation in concentration camps is reprehensible,” … “Nazi doctors conducted medical experiments on victims that caused pain, mutilation, permanent disability, and in many cases, death. -2

Aftermath

• The Plaintiff’s attorney Jared Woodfill, speaking to the The Washington Times said that he will appeal the ruling and “that the lawsuit is one battle in a larger war to protect employees’ rights”. -1

“Employment should not be conditioned upon whether you will agree to serve as a human guinea pig. We will be appealing this case to the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court if necessary,” Mr. Woodfill said.-1

“All of my clients continue to be committed to fighting this unjust policy,”…“If this ruling is allowed to stand, employers across the country will be able to force their employees to participate in a vaccine trial as a condition for employment. This legal battle has only just begun.”-1

• Dr Peter McCullough in an interview with the Corona-Ausscuss stated that this will go to the Texas Supreme Court -4

Further Research

• Read the original court ruling here:
• Children’s Health Defense has prepared this document for employees, students and others who may face unwanted vaccine mandates. The document, which outlines the legal arguments for why the EUA vaccines can’t be mandated, can be shared with employers and universities : https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/chd-notice-for-eua-vaccines.pdf
• https://abcnews.go.com/US/117-employees-sue-houston-methodist-hospital-requiring-covid/story?id=77977011
• https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/13/us/houston-methodist-covid-vaccine-lawsuit/index.html
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9689079/Workers-Houston-Methodist-Hospital-plan-bring-case-Supreme-Court.html
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/05/29/texas-hospital-vaccine-lawsuit/

References

• 1 https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jun/13/judge-tosses-houston-methodist-hospital-workers-va/
• 2 https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/558173-judge-dismisses-staff-lawsuit-against-houston-methodist-vaccine-mandate
• 3 https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/employees-sue-texas-hospital-covid-vaccine-mandate/
• 4 https://open.lbry.com/@LongXXvids:c/Dr.-McCullough-on-CA–56—June-11-2021:6

Keywords

Texas, Houston, Hospital, Mandate, Vaccine, Emergency Use, Nuremberg, Cases in the United States