A lengthy Facebook post from an Ohio nurse who is set to be fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine has nearly half a million shares, and more than 220,000 comments.
“I’m an RN of 10 years and I am being fired December 1. I’m not political. I don’t watch the news. I do my job and I go home to my family. I love caring for others from every single walk of life and I take that responsibility seriously,” Melissa Rexroth said in a Facebook post written in the early morning last Saturday.
WBNS confirmed that Rexroth is a registered nurse in Ohio, though she did not say where she worked in her Facebook post.
“Last year I worked the floor no one else wanted to,” she continued, referring to the COVID-19 floor. “I have my own medical issues, but I willingly worked that floor. I sat face to face with your loved ones without fear because I trust science when it says the survival rate is greater than 99%. However, I don’t judge anyone who is scared. If I hadn’t seen all the things I’ve seen with my own eyes, I would probably be scared too.”
Rexroth continued, noting that most of the patients she saw last year, even before the COVID-19 vaccine was available, survived the illness and “walked out the door.”
“This year I’m working in the ER and will be fired December 1st for refusing a [vaccine],” she said. “How is it possible that I worked the entire past year, most shifts on said floor, many times without the proper equipment, and without the [vaccine], but today I am expendable?”
The rest of the post echoed a sentiment shared by many Americans at this stage of the pandemic: that taking the COVID-19 vaccine should be voluntary, and not forced upon anyone.
Rexroth is not alone in her protest of forced vaccinations. In fact, nurses around the country have organized and protested such requirements.
Earlier this week, nurses at the Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC) protested a vaccine mandate which forces SOMC employees to be vaccinated by September 17.
They shared the same sentiment as Rexroth.
“We are standing for our freedom,” protest organizer Amy Conlon said at the rally. “Our freedom of choice. Whether we want the vaccination or not, it doesn’t matter. We’re all here for freedom.”
Read Rexroth’s full post here.
– – –
Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Melissa Rexroth” by Melissa Rexroth.
