Protests against mandated COVID-19 vaccines pop up across US
As the COVID-19 delta variant causes a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the U.S., protests against mandatory COVID vaccines have cropped up around the country.
Dozens of people gathered outside St. John's Hospital in Maplewood, Minnesota on Saturday to protest vaccination mandates from health care systems including M Health Fairview, Allina Health, HealthPartners and Children's Minnesota,
ABC affiliate KSTP reported.
The only exemptions are for strong religious beliefs or medical conditions. "We stand up for our patients all the time and no one's standing up for us," Allison Todd, a nurse at Allina Health's Cambridge clinic told the station.
![PHOTO: A sign is seen at a protest against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mandates being implemented by various hospitals, universities and business across the state of Michigan at the State Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, Aug. 6, 2021.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/michigan-anti-covid-protest-rt-jef-210808_1628442189801_hpEmbed_17x12_992.jpg)
Hundreds protested outside of ChristianaCare in Newark, Delaware, Saturday to push back against the hospital's decision to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for all employees, according to WPVI.
And more than 100 gathered in Vancouver, Washington, to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates for hospital workers, ABC's Portland affiliate, KATU reported.