'From Hero to Zero': Dickinson Nurses and supporters protest vaccine mandates

In Dickinson, more than 200 medical professionals and community supporters gathered on Thursday, Aug. 26, to protest the federal and private vaccination mandates as conditions of employment — citing the rapid transition from 'Hero to Zero' in treatment.


On Aug. 18, President Biden announced that staff members at nursing homes would now be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or those facilities would risk losing their Medicare and Medicaid funding.

“I'm using the power of the federal government, as a payer of healthcare costs, to ensure we reduce those risks to our most vulnerable seniors,” Biden said in a speech delivered at the White House concerning the mandate.

The federal announcement received both praise and condemnation from medical professionals and media, and appears to have caused a ripple effect throughout North Dakota where, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker, the state ranks 42nd in the nation with more than 52% of the population remaining unvaccinated.

In a statement released by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, the new mandate “unfairly targets long-term care staff.”

Read more: https://www.thedickinsonpress.com/newsmd/health-news/7171074-From-Hero-to-Zero-Dickinson-Nurses-and-supporters-protest-vaccine-mandates