MILWAUKEE – U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) demands answers about the Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s employee COVID-19 mandate.
In a letter dated April 13, and which FOX6 News acquired first, the senator demands answers from the center’s director, Daniel Zomchek, Ph.D, and adds he has heard from some employees of the VA Medical Center (VAMC).
“Despite their willingness to continue to be tested for COVID-19 or natural immunity from the virus, Milwaukee VAMC officials are apparently forcing these employees to be fully vaccinated,” Johnson wrote.
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The letter cites a FOX6 story reporting at least five nurses at the Milwaukee center who had previously received medical or religious exemptions from the vaccine mandate are now being denied the exemptions.
“Those unvaccinated nurses and many other VAMC employees that have contacted my office fear that they may lose their jobs unless they adhere to the coercive mandate,” the senator wrote. “The Milwaukee VAMC employees that reached out to my office fear that the facility’s coercive vaccine mandate will cause staff shortages and directly effect patient care. I share those legitimate concerns.”
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin)
Johnson argues vaccine mandates are “pointless and destructive” and then asks the director to answer these questions:
- How many COVID-19 vaccine exemptions have been granted for Milwaukee VAMC employees?
- How many requests for exemptions have been denied?
- What is the purpose of requiring COVID-19 vaccination if it cannot prevent infection and spread?
- Is it true that the facility will not offer weekly COVID-19 testing to employees or test for natural immunity? If so, please explain the justification for these policies.
Before the letter was sent, the Milwaukee VA wrote in a statement in defense of the vaccine mandate:
“Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations demonstrate that vaccination remains the safest strategy to prevent the emergence of novel variants, SARS-CoV-2 infections, and associated COVID-19-related disease complications. The goal of the requirement is to increase vaccination and thereby patient and employee safety.”
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As FOX6 originally reported on Sunday, April 10, the five nurses say the center’s actions are “a disservice to our country.”
“We’ve been weekly testing. We’ve been masking, and now, these things are no longer good enough, and they want me to go against my religious belief when I’ve been doing the same thing this whole time,” said Jennifer Graham.
Graham once served in the Air Force. For the past 13 years, she’s worked at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, a job she worries she could soon lose because she’s unvaccinated.
“Are they going to be able to hire people in time to keep these veterans safe and able to get the care they deserve?” added Graham.
Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee
The Biden administration’s Office of Personnel Management says the administration’s vaccine mandate is for all federal employees – “other than in limited circumstances where the law requires an exception. In particular, an agency may be required to provide a reasonable accommodation to employees who communicate to the agency that they are not vaccinated against COVID-19 because of a disability or because of a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.”
In January, a federal district judge blocked the mandate. However, last week the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled 2-1 on jurisdictional issues that there is an administrative process to challenge the mandate before employees could file in federal district court, so the lower court should have dismissed the lawsuit. An appeal is expected of that appeals court ruling.
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