A nurse who refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine during the pandemic has been fired despite the vaccination mandate being lifted.
Casey officially lost her job at Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital last week, more than two years after refusing to receive the required two doses of the vaccine.
“When the mandate went into effect, my daughter had been born, but I was still breastfeeding and had a few medical issues at the time,” she said.
Health workers in Queensland have been ordered by the state government to be fully vaccinated against the virus in 2021.
Thousands of nurses and frontline health workers were put on leave during the height of the pandemic after refusing the jab.
The administration rescinded vaccine mandates in 2022, with many employees, including Casey, leaving pending a decision on their employment status.
Casey finally received the official decision last week that she would lose her job – after two years in limbo.
“It was quite devastating after a long wait of almost two and a half years,” she said Nine news.
A Queensland Health spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that staff members who did not get vaccinated were not meeting a reasonable condition of employment.
“These staff faced disciplinary action not for failing to be vaccinated, but for failing to meet a reasonable condition of employment,” the spokesperson said.
Casey (pictured), who has been a nurse for 20 years, was fired after ref
“We are inviting former staff to reapply for positions, and dozens of employees have returned to work since the mandate was lifted.”
Casey, like many other nurses in the state, is now considering whether to return to her previous job.
“I’ve been breastfeeding for 20 years, so I feel like that experience and knowledge just wasn’t appreciated,” she said.
Casey was unhappy with the way her case was handled and contacted Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman to have her case reviewed.
“I got a call from the minister’s office to say they would help and you didn’t have to fight it alone,” she said.
“I haven’t heard anything since.”
Minister Fentiman said there was no order stopping dismissed nurses from reapplying for their old jobs.
“There is no barrier, there is no guideline,” she said at a press conference last week.
About 1,200 health care workers in Queensland have been fired or resigned after refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
