Anti-Vax Health Workers Picket Wellstar Corporate HQ

MARIETTA, GA — About 150 protestors — healthcare workers who don’t want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 — held a “Stop the Mandate” demonstration at midday Wednesday in front of Wellstar Health System’s corporate headquarters in Marietta.

Wellstar, which operates 11 hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Georgia, announced earlier this month that it would require COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees, including contractors and volunteers. The mandate is effective on Oct. 1, and those who refuse may lose their jobs.

Jackie Gorman, a nurse and longtime Wellstar employee, told The Marietta Daily Journal that she didn’t “want to take the poison” even though she’d had COVID-19 in December and was still experiencing long-term symptoms.

“I’m still dealing with COVID issues. I don’t need vaccine issues too,” Gorman said to a reporter from the Marietta newspaper. “I don’t know what poison they’re trying to put in my body.”

Among those in attendance was Republican gubernatorial candidate Vernon Jones, who said in a statement Tuesday that Wellstar’s decision was “political” and not based on science.

“The government is not here to make decisions for the people regarding our health and bodies,” Jones said. “The freedom of private corporations to do business as they please, should stop at mandating what citizens put in their bodies.”

The protest in Marietta marks the second high-profile employee demonstration against Wellstar over vaccine mandates. On Aug. 11, employees protested outside Wellstar Spalding Hospital in Griffin, and they told WAGA-TV in Atlanta that more protests were planned at other Wellstar facilities.

Wellstar released the following statement Wednesday afternoon:

“We value our team members for all that they do, and respect their right to peacefully express their views regarding our decision to join many other health systems by requiring COVID-19 vaccination in order to protect our patients, team members, and communities. We understand that some employees have questions about our new policy announcement, and we are committed to providing a safe forum to hear and address concerns. The best protection we currently have against the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic is vaccination, especially as we experience a concerning and rapid increase in cases and hospitalizations from the COVID-19 Delta variant.”

Read the story in The Marietta Daily Journal.

RELATED:

• Ambulances Turned Away At Wellstar North Fulton From Overcrowding
• Patients Turned Away At Wellstar Douglas Because Of Overcrowding
• Kemp Pushes COVID-19 Vaccine While Continuing To Refuse Mandates