Triple-vaxxed pharma exec who resigned explains why vaccine mandate ‘belies common sense’

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John Soriano, who resigned as a top executive from the pharmaceutical company Insmed Incorporated after the company mandated that employees get the COVID-19 vaccine, appeared Monday night on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle,” to charge that the economically strong are taking advantage of the economically weak.

Triple-vaccinated himself, Soriano recently penned an op-ed run by The Federalist laying out his position and he joined Fox News host Laura Ingraham to discuss the piece.

“You noted that quitting wasn’t a painful decision because you have means. But what about others, because I talked to so many people who want to quit but they can’t in similar circumstances,” Ingraham said.

“At the end of the day, it was a very easy decision to make because when the company decided to promulgate the policy of get vaxxed or you’re fired, I knew as a top executive I’m obligated to support the decisions the company made, but I could not,” Soriano said. “And so, therefore, my decision was easy. Since I resigned, I’ve heard from countless employees, not only at my former company but from other former companies because a lot of them are marching in lockstep and doing this. And they’ve all said to me, gee, we really admire what you did and we also appreciate your saying that others aren’t in a position to do it because we can’t afford it. We need to keep our jobs.”

He further noted that a person he spoke to from his former company told him he was not going to get vaccinated, but would have to sell his house if he got fired.

“So this is really a decision where again, the economically strong are taking advantage of economically weak in enforcing this mandate,” Soriano said. “And it was just a bridge too far and I couldn’t support it.”

Ingraham pointed out a growing occurrence in America, where hospitals are asking COVID-19 positive staff to work because so many are coming down with the virus despite being vaccinated — many hospitals are already understaffed because they fired employees who would not get vaccinated.

“Yes, that’s exactly right. That’s actually happening in the pharma industry, again I’ve been hearing from lots of sales reps from lots of pharma companies and it’s very common,” Soriano replied. “First of all, it’s very — not uncommon, unfortunately, for sales reps to get fired if they don’t get the vax. But in other companies, the unvaccinated sales reps are not allowed to got to go visit their customers, which in our case are doctors, even if they’re virus-free. Conversely, if you’ve gotten the vax, you can go to visit doctor’s offices and you may well be carrying the virus.”

“So it makes no sense, makes no sense economically, morally, science-wise. It just belies common sense,” he observed. “I think whenever the CDC or Dr. Fauci say something very smart, nice, intelligent people suspend critical thinking and just march in lockstep.”

Soriano noted the Supreme Court striking down the Biden administration’s “authoritarian” Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccine mandate, to say he learned that Insmed had previously granted all requested mandate exemptions — at least temporarily.

“Although the edict is still in force and can be invoked at any time, no one has yet been fired based upon their vax status. That is great news, as the company has thus recognized that the health and safety of its employees and other stakeholders can be protected through less coercive and draconian means than mass firings,” he wrote. “Perhaps the seeming omnipresence of Omicron among the vaxxed moved the needle on the mandate. Perhaps my resignation led to introspection about its nonsensical nature. And now that the Supreme Court has ruled, maybe the exemptions will be permanent; or better yet, the mandate will be reversed.”

He concluded to say the company still “caused the roiling anguish and distress that former colleagues shared with me.”

Tom Tillison

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