A group of more than 70 protesters popped up Monday morning on Patterson Road to protest mandating COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers.
One protester said in a Facebook live video that the protest was in response to Mesa Manor Center, a nursing home, firing employees who were not vaccinated.
Genesis HealthCare, which operates Mesa Manor at 2910 N. 12th St., required its employees to be vaccinated by Monday.
According to a message on Genesis’s website, its patients are at greater risk of severe illness if they contract COVID-19 because of age, underlying conditions or both, and the company needed to greatly increase its vaccination rate from 65% among staffers to protect its patients, residents and employees.
“Our move to adopt universal vaccination is an incredibly important decision, and we very seriously weighed the competing concerns before proceeding down this path,” the message read. “While we would have greatly preferred a strictly voluntary process, our commitment to health and safety outweighs concerns about imposing a requirement.”
Genesis HealthCare did not respond to a request for comment by Monday evening.
Several protesters said they were not anti-vaccine, but against mandating vaccines.
“I think it is wrong that they are mandating that we get this vaccine,” a woman, who identified herself as a health care worker, said in the video. She said the mandate was taking away people’s freedom of choice.
HOSPITALS REQUIRE VACCINATIONS
Mesa County’s hospitals announced earlier this month that they would require all employees to be vaccinated.
St. Mary’s Medical Center released a statement Monday saying SCL Health, which operates the hospital, supports vaccine mandates for health care workers, and it supports Gov. Jared Polis, who requested the state Board of Health require vaccination for people working directly with vulnerable populations and in settings where people receive essential medical treatment.
“Many health care organizations in Mesa County agree that vaccination is the primary way to control the increased number of infections in the community from the delta variant,” the statement read.
Jeff Kuhr, Mesa County Public Health’s executive director, announced the mandate at an Aug. 13 press conference at Public Health’s offices.
A spokesperson for Public Health said the department did not want to comment about Monday’s protest because the mandate was not issued by public health.
The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Grand Junction has already required its staffers to be vaccinated.
Diane Schwenke, president and CEO of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, said that while area businesses are responding to the vaccine rollout in different ways, most are encouraging employees to get vaccinated instead of mandating shots or not addressing it at all.
Schwenke noted businesses can suffer financial consequences from employees contracting COVID-19 by having to pay them for time missed and having to pay other employees to make up the hours missed.
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration fully approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Previously, it had been approved for emergency use.
The other two vaccines used in the U.S., the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, are approved for emergency use.
A Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment press release said the state is focused on vaccinating as many eligible people as possible.
“We want Coloradans to be as comfortable as possible in getting vaccinated against COVID-19. For some Coloradans who have been on the fence, that may mean choosing a vaccine that has been fully approved by the FDA.
“Coloradans now have that choice with the Pfizer vaccine. Our state is fortunate that our supply is robust enough that Coloradans have many options for the vaccine,” said Dr. Eric France, chief medical officer at the state health department.
France defended the effectiveness of the vaccines in the press release.
“We also want to remind everyone that all three of the available vaccines have gone through rigorous testing, and more than 362 million doses have already been administered in the United States,” he said. “Scientists and doctors throughout the country agree that all of the available vaccines are safe and effective, and it’s much safer to choose to be vaccinated than risk getting COVID-19.”
According to Mesa County Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, 44% of county residents have been fully vaccinated and 49% have received at least one dose.
Jen Schumann, who has been vocal about being against vaccine mandates and making appearances at several public meetings, said in an email that medical professionals who were protesting were resisting medical tyranny and advocating for their own medical sovereignty.
“They’re being coerced into something that they don’t consent to and they’re about to lose their jobs if they don’t, so we’re standing up for them and they’re standing up, hoping we can turn the tide out here,” said a man at the protest.
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August 24, 2021 at 01:15PM
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