FALL RIVER – Southcoast Health System Inc. has fired 216 workers who refused to comply with a mandate to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to The Herald News.
Another 151 of the nonprofit hospital system’s employees have been granted vaccine exemptions, according to spokesperson Katie Cox. Southcoast employs approximately 7,500 at hospitals in Fall River, New Bedford and Wareham, a psychiatric hospital in Dartmouth, two cancer treatment centers and seven urgent care centers, including one in Middletown.
The fired workers lost their jobs on Nov. 30, after missing a Nov. 15 vaccination deadline, The Herald News reported on Monday. Another 102 employees who were placed on leave for missing that initial vaccination deadline were allowed to return to work after getting their first vaccine dose.
It’s unclear if any of the fired workers will be rehired if they get vaccinated.
