The doctor claims she was unlawfully fired because of her religious beliefs.
A former Tufts Medical Center doctor is suing the hospital for $6 million, claiming it wrongfully fired her for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine because of her religious beliefs.
In a complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday, Dr. Theresa Gabana seeks damages for discrimination and wrongful termination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which caused her a “significant loss of her future earnings and retirement.”
“I believe Dr. Gabana has a very strong case,” wrote Richard Chambers Jr., Dr. Gabana’s lawyer, in an email to Boston.com. “She was entitled to a religious exemption by law.”
Dr. Gabana worked as an emergency room physician for 29 years until she was fired on Dec. 5, 2021, at the age of 61.
After the state determined that the COVID-19 pandemic was no longer a state of emergency, Tufts Medical Center implemented its own mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy on Aug. 10, 2021.
The hospital informed employees that the new requirement, barring an approved religious or medical exemption, would take effect on Oct. 18, 2021.
On Sept. 3, 2021, Dr. Gabana submitted her request for a religious exemption.
Dr. Gabana wrote that the current COVID-19 vaccines were “developed with or tested upon aborted fetal cell lines” and “the sanctity of human life, including the unborn, is a major tenet of my faith. Using this vaccine is a violation of my faith.”
Researchers in the United States reproduced cells initially obtained from elective abortions in the 1970s and 1980s while developing some COVID-19 vaccines, according to the National Institute of Health. --->READ MORE HERE
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| AP |
In what has become a pattern of spreading vaccine misinformation, the Florida health department is telling older Floridians and other people at highest risk from COVID-19 to avoid most booster shots, saying they are potentially dangerous.
Clinicians and scientists denounced the message as politically fueled scaremongering that also weakens efforts to protect against diseases like measles and whooping cough.
A prominent Florida doctor expressed dismay that medical leaders in the state, leery of angering Gov. Ron DeSantis, have been slow to counter antivaccine messages from Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, including the latest COVID-19 bulletin. Ladapo is a DeSantis appointee and the state health department’s top official.
The bulletin makes a number of false or unproven claims about the efficacy and safety of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna, including that they could threaten "the integrity of the human genome." Florida’s guidance generally regurgitates ideas from antivaccine websites, said John Moore, a microbiology professor at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Ladapo did not respond to a request for comment. DeSantis referred questions to the health department, which said the surgeon general’s guidance and citations "speak for themselves" and pointed to a post he made on the social media platform X accusing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and FDA of "gaslighting Americans."
DeSantis has styled himself and his administration as a bulwark against vaccine mandates, lockdowns, and other restrictive public health protections adopted during the pandemic to curb infections and save lives. COVID-19 vaccination has become a partisan issue, with surveys by KFF, the health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, finding that Republicans have far less confidence in the safety and efficacy of the shots than Democrats. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
COVID cases rose this fall. What to know about getting a vaccination
Long COVID linked to potential brainstem damage
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
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