Cincinnati hospital poll on COVID vaccine shows a third of nurses would quit rather than be forced to take it

Ohio nurses are pushing back against hospitals requiring them to take the coronavirus vaccine, and a recent survey shows that about 30% of nurses at one Cincinnati medical center would quit before taking the vaccine.

One hundred thirty-six out of 456 nurses who responded to a union survey at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said they would quit their job instead of following a mandate to get vaccinated, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“This places the medical center in a very difficult position, and it places the nurses in a very difficult position,” Dominic Mendiola, a labor representative for the nurses association said, adding that the hospital has been at capacity on and off since July.

UC Health system announced in July that employees needed to be vaccinated by Oct. 1 and other area hospitals have also implemented a mandate.

Seventy percent of nurses polled said they had already taken the vaccine.

“We are proud of the thousands of our nurses, physicians and other employees who have been fully vaccinated,” UC Health spokeswoman Amanda Nageleisen said. “The science supports their decision, and we applaud their willingness to step forward and advance the safety of our patients, staff and community. These survey results do not reflect the views of the majority of our 10,000 employees, including our 2,600 nurses across the UC Health system.” – READ MORE