Consider buying an advertisement for your business or sending a donation to Pike County Times to support the only free online newspaper in Pike County. Donations can be sent to: The Pike County Times, PO Box 843, Zebulon, Georgia 30295. Click here to donate through PayPal. Thanks for supporting Pike County's only free online newspaper!
GRIFFIN - A protest was held on the sidewalk outside of Wellstar Spalding Hospital on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 from 12 to about 1 p.m. The protest was to allow those who are against mandatory COVID vaccination policies at the hospital to let those employed at the hospital know that they have support from the community.
Most of the pictures here are taken from across the street. Everyone was kind and just happy to have their voice heard.
There were people present from several different counties and probably close to a hundred people lining the sidewalks.
Thank you to Wellstar Spalding for watching from a distance (mostly) and the Griffin Police Department for providing safety for all involved.
What About Legislation?
Representative Beth Camp was at the protest. She has a bill that would prevent mandatory vaccinations at the state, but it is currently stuck in the Health and Human Services Committee: House Bill 413. Rep. Camp advised that the Chair, Sharon Cooper, is adamantly opposed to HB 413 being allowed out of committee.
Here is more information on the bill that can be viewed at www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59594. This description is from the House Legislative page: "Health; prohibit state or local governments from requiring individuals to submit to vaccinations as a condition to certain actions if the vaccine does not meet certain conditions."
There are currently 6 sponsors on this legislation: Beth Camp, Brad Thomas, Karen Mathiak, Mitchell Scoggins, Matthew Gambill, and Martin Momtahan.
Click here to read more about the committee. There is a contact number on this State of Georgia Legislative website if you are inclined to call and leave your opinion about this legislation. You can also contact committee members. This bill has been sitting in that committee since February 11, 2021.
[Note from the Editor: On a side note, even if she could get it out of committee, the legislature is not in session to pass the bill and will remain that way unless Governor Kemp for a special session before October 1 which may happen depending on census numbers because districts are being drawn up.]
How Did the Community React?
Flags were flying, horns were honking, and thumbs up were common throughout the protest.
No one attacked anyone or blocked driveways or destroyed any property.
[Note from the Editor: Whether one agrees with the point of this particular protest of not, if there is going to be a protest, this is likely the kind that anyone would like to see in their city or county because it does not leave destruction for community members to clean up afterward.]
Wellstar Gave a Statement to the Media
Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital gave a statement to Pike County Times regarding the walkout. It reads as follows:
"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 variant."
But Wait... There's More!
Pike County Times recorded several videos on the day of the protest.
Wellstar 1st Amendment Freedom to Protest and Be Heard
Pike County Times also attempted to follow up a mandate for both Wellstar Spalding Hospital and Upson Regional Medical Center much like the article that was written on COVID visitations on both hospitals just a few short months ago.
Since both hospitals serve our area, Pike County Times thought it was prudent to find out from them what was going on rather than going on hearsay at the protest or what had been seen on social media.
Questions About Mandate to Wellstar Spalding Hospital
Pike County Times sent the following questions by email on August 11 to the representative from Wellstar Spalding Hospital who was at the protest and advised that the deadline was Friday, August 13.
Pike County Times was advised that the email had been forwarded to the Public Relations Team.
1) I'm being told that there is a mandatory vaccine date deadline of October 1. Is that true, and why October 1?
2) Will employees be forced to choose between getting the Covid vaccine in order to work and being fired if they do not?
3) If there is a policy or statement that has been given to employees, please provide a copy of it. (FYI I am going to be doing the same thing with Upson Regional just like I did with Covid visitation.) I will contact y'all with further questions if I have any and provide a link to my article when it is complete.
4) Will employees who participated in today's protest be penalized in any way, shape, or form?
5) If there is anything that y'all would like to add, I'll be happy to upload it with the article. Thanks for your time.
The following questions were sent in a separate email that same day.
Will there be a religious and/or health exemption to this policy? If so, who approves or denies this exemption and what will be required to get this IF there is an exemption to the policy?
Wellstar Spalding Response
Pike County Times has received no response from Wellstar Spalding Hospital.
Questions About Mandate and Statement from Upson Regional Medical Center (URMC)
Pike County Times sent the following questions by email on August 11 to a representative from URMC and advised that the deadline was Friday, August 13.
Pike County Times received a statement on August 12.
1) Will there/is there a mandatory vaccine policy at Upson Regional Medical Center? If so, may I have a copy of it.
2) If there is a policy or statement that has been given to employees, please provide a copy of it. (This is much the same as I did with Covid visitation.) I will contact y'all with further questions if I have any and provide a link to my article when it is complete.
3) Will employees be forced to choose between getting the Covid vaccine in order to work and being fired if they do not?
4) I was told today that one employee has been fired. Is that true?
5) Will there be a religious and/or health exemption to this policy if there is one?
6) If there is anything that y'all would like to add, I'll be happy to upload it with the article. Thanks for your time.
The following questions were sent in a separate email that same day.
Will there be a religious and/or health exemption to this policy? If so, who approves or denies this exemption and what will be required to get this IF there is an exemption to the policy?
URMC Response
URMC sent the following statement in response to the questions above. The answer is verbatim what was sent to Pike County Times.
"Upson Regional Medical Center has been, and continues to be, an advocate for COVID vaccination throughout the communities we serve. Infection rates across middle Georgia are climbing very quickly at this time. In some areas—Pike County included--the rate of new infections is equal to or has even surpassed what was seen in late 2020 at the pandemic’s previous peak. This is an extremely dangerous time, and no slowing of the increase is visible yet.
Upson Regional has been instrumental in vaccinating many across middle Georgia, recently reaching a milestone of 20,000 vaccinations administered.
Upson employees are an important part of our vaccination initiative, already showing vaccination rates substantially higher than the general population. We are proud of this but continue to provide information and encouragement to our unvaccinated employees, asking for their assistance in helping end this pandemic by getting vaccinated.
Upson Regional employees already are required to be vaccinated against Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Whooping Cough, Tetanus, and Diphtheria, plus are screened for active Tuberculosis. These are requirements for employment and have been for many years. Additionally, employees are offered vaccination for Hep B.
To further protect each other and those we are here to serve during this unprecedented time, our goal is to also achieve 100% vaccination against COVID-19 among our employees. We will keep working diligently toward this goal.
Public COVID vaccinations are offered at Upson Regional every Tuesday and Friday from 7:30am-4:30pm. Upson employees can be vaccinated all day, every weekday, with no appointment necessary.
Closing
Thank you to everyone who took the time to talk to Pike County Times including the representative from Wellstar Spalding who was walking around at the protest.
Pike County Times has attended many a protest over the years for a variety of topics including a Black Lives Matter protest in Zebulon on the Courthouse Square not very long ago.
Making a point by attending a peaceful protest and then going home and make some more phone calls, send some emails, etc. is a way to make your voice heard on ANY topic.