EXCLUSIVE: Nurse-gone-viral after vaccine termination speaks out

These shoes were on my feet and this badge was clipped to my chest as I held a dying man’s hand before he passed on...

But this week these shoes and this badge were retired, not by choice but because I refused to get a new vaccine while breastfeeding the baby I suffered 4 miscarriages & COVID while pregnant to finally have in my arms.

–Jen Peters

As draconian measures sift across the United States, upstanding citizens are losing their jobs — even healthcare providers who, at one point, were front-lining the defense against COVID-19 at great risk to themselves and their families.

In a powerfully written Instagram post, Jen Peters, a registered nurse from Southern California, shared endearing memories of her years as a nurse that can be truly appreciated by healthcare providers who make so many sacrifices and give so much of themselves to care for their patients. In an exclusive interview with the Standing for Freedom Center, Jen explains her decision to refuse the COVID vaccination and how she hopes her story will help others. (Full interview at the end of the article)

“I had to work really hard to come back from maternity leave and to make it work coming back to work because I just couldn’t imagine stepping away from moms and babies just yet. So, it was a little tough to swallow when the mandate came out and then my healthcare institution’s response to the mandate. I pretty much knew that I would be terminated based on my stance on the issue.”

Jen, who had COVID while she was pregnant, had decided to apply for a medical exemption because she is breastfeeding. Her request was denied and she was given a termination date. Noting the badge and the nurse’s clogs that have been her “uniform” for 12 years, she decided she wanted to talk about her nursing career and the impact of losing it. She posted her message to Instagram and has since received tens of thousands of views.

“I’ve had so many people reach out to me who are in my exact same position, nurses, from all over the world, and say ‘Thank you for taking a stand. This has happened to me as well. Thank you for using your voice.’”

Ultimately, Jen believes that a one-size-fits-all vaccination policy will hurt not just healthcare workers but will also have a negative effect on patients and the quality of care they receive.

“In all honesty, nurses don’t work for the money, especially if you work in a hospital. We’re there because we honestly care. It’s really unfortunate because I feel like this mandate has just shoved some people up against a wall. There are some people who are the breadwinners for their family, and it’s either feed my family, or not…if I get this vaccination. So, it really takes away the compassion and the personal element of it.”

Jen says that being terminated is forcing her to also retire her badge and nurse’s shoes, but we can only pray that when the dust settles on the judicial battles taking place across the country over this issue, Jen will be able to suit up with her badge and shoes and go back to caring for patients — as is clearly her God-given talent and purpose.

John Wesley Reid: “There are a lot of freedom-loving litigators out there who are fighting all night, across the judicial spectrum here in the United States, and they’re not letting up, they’re firing on all cylinders. So once all this settles, and once justice has the last word, my hope is that your pair of shoes and your badge have another viral post coming, and hopefully that post, the story behind that post, is that you’re putting them back on to go back to work.”

Illustrated with the pair of shoes and badge she had worn for the past 12 years, Jen shared endearing moments from her career:

These shoes were on my feet and this badge was clipped to my chest
as I walked into the hospital for my very first shift as a brand new nurse 12 years ago.

These shoes were on my feet and this badge was clipped to my chest
as I wiped my tears away having just found out that I was having a miscarriage and entered the room of a brand new mom to wipe her tears away as she cried over the trouble she was having with breastfeeding her newborn baby.

These shoes were on my feet and the badge was clipped to my chest
as I spent countless nights, weekends, and holidays away from my family so that I could care for others and their families.

These shoes were on my feet and this badge was clipped to my chest
as I worked through the pandemic that had most of the world safely isolating at home.

These shoes and this badge have been with me as I put all of my patients’ needs before my own and my family‘s needs.

But this week these shoes and this badge were retired, not by choice but because I refused to get a new vaccine while breastfeeding the baby I suffered 4 miscarriages & COVID while pregnant to finally have in my arms.

So these shoes will never be on my feet again and this badge will never be clipped to my chest again. It is time for a new pair of shoes.

The mere existence of such a choice, a choice between livelihood and personal health, is a storyline that we should only hope to see in fictional dystopian books. Yet, Jen’s story is real and her voice represents many others. The boiling frog, once analogous to the slow, gradual progression of bad governing, is an analogy of the past. The tolerance shown by the citizenry towards these tyrannic measures is astoundingly fast. In 2020, the narrative was “stop saying masks mandates are a gateway to more…” as if those saying that mask mandates would lead to more were senseless conspiracy theorists. But in a mere year, people are being terminated from their careers, even careers that are depended on to ensure the advancement of life.

Jen is one person and her story is one story. But her story represents thousands who have or will be terminated for the simple infraction of standing up for individual liberty and bodily autonomy.

Full Interview

Editor’s Note: The Standing for Freedom Center takes no official position on the COVID-19 vaccination. Our position is simply freedom. We do not encourage people to take the vaccine nor do we discourage people from receiving the vaccine as we believe that is a personal choice to be made individually based on personal health, research, and individual liberty. Any opposition that our articles show towards the vaccine conversation is about the mandates, not the vaccine itself. We oppose government overreach, no matter the variable. –John Wesley Reid

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John Wesley Reid is the Editor-in-Chief at the Standing for Freedom Center. John has worked in Washington D.C. for several years covering politics, the Supreme Court, and church relations within the political sphere.

During his tenure in DC, he was a producer with CBN News, digital media director for the Family Research Council, and is a contributing author for various networks. John is published in the Christian Post, CBN News, Disrn, Family Research Council, and other publications. After serving in the Marine Corps, John studied political science at Biola University before beginning his career in journalism.