TUCSON, Ariz., March 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Despite concerns about COVID vaccines, vaccine mandates are increasing in hospitals, schools, military service, and even ordinary employment, writes Andrew Schlafly in the spring issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Schlafly serves as general counsel for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). He states that many hospitals are now requiring annual influenza vaccination of all employees. Religious exemption to vaccination has emerged as the strongest legal response to these mandates.
When religious liberty is denied, litigation becomes necessary, Schlafly states. Being knowledgeable about how to assert religious objections can be invaluable to everyone who works in a hospital.
The article focuses on the recent case of Palms v. Texas Children’s Hospital, in which a radiographer who had been employed there for more than 20 years faced termination unless she accepted an influenza vaccine.
Ms. Palms’s request for a religious exemption from the COVID shot had been granted, but her request for the influenza exemption was denied despite her likewise asserting her religious objections. The hospital argued that her objections were inconsistent with her voluntarily receiving the influenza vaccine in earlier years.
Ms. Palms filed suit in federal court, and a few days later the hospital informed her that the hospital decided to exempt her after all. The district court next dismissed the suit, Schlafly explains. Then the hospital demanded that Ms. Palms reimburse it for some of its expenses, which the district court subsequently ordered. Next a 2-1 divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit initially affirmed the district court. After Schlafly filed a petition for rehearing en banc, the hospital agreed to settle instead.
Schlafly concludes that hospitals are often hostile to respecting the right to free exercise of religion with respect to vaccination exemption. Requests must be carefully formulated, and litigation as well as a complaint about religious discrimination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may be required. “Persistence is necessary.”
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.
Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, janeorientmd@gmail.com
