A New York City waitress says she was fired from her job after telling her supervisors that she wanted to wait to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Brooklyn resident, Bonnie Jacobson used to work at the Red Hook Tavern before she was let go two days after telling her boss she was concerned about getting the COVID vaccine. Her and her husband have started trying for a child and she is hesitant to get the vaccine because of the lack of research there is for pregnant woman and how the vaccine affects them.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that "the actual risks of mRNA vaccines to the pregnant person and her fetus are unknown because these vaccines have not been studied in pregnant women."
Jacobson said her manager originally understood her concern about the vaccine. However a few days later she received an email saying the vaccinations were mandatory for employees.
"Please be advised that we will require that all employees receive the vaccination," the email, which Jacobson provided to NBC News, said. "This will be mandatory for all existing employees and any new hires. The exception to this policy will be if your own personal health or disability prohibits you from obtaining this vaccination. We encourage you to consult your healthcare professional to determine if getting a vaccine is right for you."
Jacobson emailed back saying, "While I fully support the vaccine and understand its importance I do believe this is a very personal choice. I really hope this choice would not affect my employment at Red Hook Tavern, also once there is more research to support that it does not affect fertility I would reconsider my position."
Two days after she sent her email, she was fired.
Red Hook Tavern's owner Billy Durney has issued a statement on the situation:
“Once New York state allowed restaurant workers to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to put a plan in place to keep our team and guests safe. No one has faced these challenges before and we made a decision that we thought would best protect everyone. And, we now realize that we need to update our policy so it’s clear to our team how the process works and what we can do to support them. We’re making these changes immediately.”