Recently (08/05/2021) Baptist Health Systems in Kentucky has set a deadline for all employees to take the first dose of the covid vaccine by September 15, 2021, or be terminated from their job after October 31!

It does not matter to the Baptist Health Systems top administrators, whether the individual is comfortable with it or not. We support the individuals who have taken the vaccine by their choice and free will, but now those currently unvaccinated, are being denied that same right, and bring given a choice of ultimatum, vaccinate or terminate. No individual should be forced into something they do not agree with, especially by the likes of employers who think enforcing non-FDA approved medicines/vaccines is ok to do. This is true professional coercion/bullying/negligence on their part because instead of thinking about their employees own safety and livelihood, (who run their facility to make it function safely and effectively), they feel they can strong arm individuals into doing something against their free will.

Many workers, here and across the state of Kentucky, feel it is too new and not enough time or research has been performed yet to be deemed perfectly safe when compared to other vaccines that were developed with the proper and allotted time prior to mandating them. Currently, no covid vaccine is fully FDA approved. This means that the vaccines available have not been put through the proper rigorous testing for long term side effects, to be approved in efficiently in safety. If mandating non-FDA approved medicine is acceptable, what else can they do on a moments notice?

Kentucky Frontline Healthcare Workers need the public's help to maintain an individual's patient right to decide for themselves and their bodies what is safe and best for their own health. No matter what their occupation maybe. This is an unethical power move, to place a mandate of this breed, on workers and it has caused unnecessary social, mental, and even religious anguish/suffering on many Americans. Many individuals will lose their job/livelihood, or be forced to quit their current school program for a career in healthcare, if they do not accept this vaccine against their will. Which really defeats the purpose of living in the United States of America or even the State of Kentucky.

We demand that our own patient rights be upheld to choose for ourselves for these current non-FDA approved vaccines and not have our decision, rushed/pressured/coerced on us. Doing so is stripping a basic American right to choose!

We give our patients the right to refuse and we are just asking for the same respect since we become a patient when vaccines/medicines are involved.

This isn't about vaccines, this is about our right to have a choice in how we decide as free human being how best to protect ourselves, especially when other means of protection are available but not being offered, such as N95 usage that was acceptable prior to vaccines and their efficacy was proven to work. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully you can understand where the true heart of this petition lies. 

Update: 9/4/2021

Now that 1 vaccine (Pfizer) is FDA approved there has still been no back down of forcing employee compliance from the 'System'. Many are sending in religious and medical deferments at this time. The already foreseen issue by staff, is the concern for the loss of staff and having enough individuals at work to care for the patients of the facility. It is assumed that the 'System' has a plan due to them forcing such a mandate with such an ultimatum, but no answers have been given or attempts made to assess potential employee loss.