Protesters across the country have been fighting against requiring COVID-19 vaccination for certain jobs and activities. They argue that they are not anti-vax, but pro-freedom. As more businesses and counties introduce proof-of-vaccination measures and vaccine passports, the protests have ramped up as well.
Pro-freedom protests are not only happening within America but around the world too. Toronto is seeing its own freedom movements and protests after announcing proof of COVID-19 vaccination to access places like restaurants, movie theatres, and gyms. Hundreds of people gathered outside of police headquarters in support of the Toronto Police Association’s opposition to vaccine mandates.
There has also been pushback in Ontario where they recently announced details of its vaccine passport system. Other hospitals are seeing major protests, including St. John’s, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Victoria, and Vancouver.
Now, Greece is seeing strong reactions to its own vaccine mandates. The Greek government announced a mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 of healthcare workers, which was set to implement on Wednesday, September.
The government has even moved to suspend 8,000-10,000 hospital workers without pay for being unvaccinated. Those refusing to get vaccinated would continue to be suspended without pay. Exemptions are only granted to those with a “proven medical reason” to not be vaccinated such as thrombosis, autoimmune disease, and serious allergic reactions to specific treatments.
The Union of Public Hospital Workers have urged colleagues to get the COVID-19 vaccine but have lashed out against mandate measures. They said they will not allow colleagues to lose their jobs over the mandates and launched protest rallies at the Health Ministry in downtown Athens. They also called on the government to freeze the measure that would suspend workers’ pay, adding that over 2,000 healthcare workers have booked an appointment for the shot in the last few days. But that’s not the point, as healthcare workers shouldn’t be forced to take the jab in exchange for a paycheck.
The union has continued to warn the government against suspending unvaccinated hospital workers, adding that the country is already seeing “significant shortages” in the already-stretched hospitals. But Health Minister Thanos Plevris has pushed back and said that the law will be “strictly implemented as scheduled” despite the risk of public health collapse. They have continued to warn unvaccinated healthcare workers to “seek jobs in other sectors.”
The Greek Ministry of Health even revealed that there have been 5,895 suspensions handed out to hospital workers who are either not “fully vaccinated” or have declined the COVID-19 vaccine. They announced that healthcare workers who have been suspended will be given a “second chance” to get the vaccine in the coming days. But hospital workers have continued to fight back. Hundreds of healthcare workers even staged a five-hour protest in Athens and other major Greek cities.
Bureaucratic figures around the world have continued to push drastic vaccine measures in order to get rid of thousands of hospital workers with permanent work contracts. Mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers have also been proposed and rolled out in European countries, such as France, where other healthcare workers have also expressed hesitancy. Agencies end up replacing the hospital workers who refuse vaccine mandates with temporary staff that cooperate with whatever the government’s plan is for a public healthcare system.
It’s all a political ploy to violate the people’s employment rights and their job. The idea that you could force a vaccine on someone is just another common trend for tightening control over the masses. It makes it even worse than they want to punish the people who are taking care of sick people.
