MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) – The West Virginia University Health System was requiring their employees to be fully vaccinated by October 31st. Many workers were unhappy with the decision.
People lined up on the sidewalks on Patteson Drive in Morgantown to protest against the vaccination mandate for WVU Medicine employees.
Health care workers gathered, due to their common belief that the COVID-19 vaccine should not be mandated for anyone. Health care worker, Tiffany Dillow said it was a relief to meet other people with similar concerns.
“I’m not vaccinated at this time. We have been made to feel like we’re alone. We should trust science and believe what we are being told 100%. Really this is just showing that you’re not alone,” she added.
Another health care worker, Hailey Kilgore agreed with Dillow. Kilgore wanted to make her own decision as to whether or not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We have a right as Americans. You know this is supposed to be a free country. Right now we’re being forced to do something that some of us are not okay with doing,” she said.
WVU Medicine issued a statement in response to the protest stating, “We respect people’s rights to express their feelings and opinions on this topic, but a public health crisis demands a public health response. Our providers are on the frontlines caring for the people in this community; we cannot have them sidelined due to covid as doing so jeopardizes patient care. The FDA-approved vaccine, which hundreds of millions of Americans have received, is safe and effective.”
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