Laurens County Republican Party Leads Anti-Vaccine Protest at Self Regional in Greenwood
August 15, 2021
On Saturday, August 14th the heat didn’t stop 100+ people from coming out to express their concerns for vaccine mandates.
The event was organized by the Laurens County Republican Party and led by chairman, Luke Rankin. Rankin is also a councilman with Laurens County Council.
“Today’s protest at Self Regional was a huge success. Freedom rang loudly today. I want to thank the many people who took time out of their busy Saturday to stand for medical freedom, said Rankin. “This wasn’t an “anti-vaccine” protest. We were protesting the fact that employees are being forced to take the COVID vaccine or lose their job and their career.”
South Carolina Representative Stewart Jones attended the protest and said, “the goal of the protest is to have Self Regional and other healthcare facilities rescind vaccine mandates as a requirement for employment.”
This was the first vaccine “medical freedom” protest in the state of South Carolina and the event garnered much attention across the Upstate. Six counties were represented at the event. Many protesters also commented that this was the most vibrant protest they had attended in quite some time. All of the people protesting were peaceful but vocal.
The event raised attention to the issue and garnered attention across the state from others in a similar situation. According to Rankin, the efforts to stop vaccine mandates are just getting started. You can follow the Laurens County Republican Party Facebook page for information on new events and additional information to support others.
In addition to the protest, there have been many calls from nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals, and members of the South Carolina House have sent letters to hospitals urging them to honor the individual medical freedom of all healthcare heroes and individuals.
Currently, Self Regional Healthcare reports that they are now honoring all requests for religious and medical exemptions of staff without exception.
Stay tuned, this is an evolving story.
Click on the images below to view the photo gallery.
