Houston, Jun 24 (IANS): At least 153 staff at a hospital in the US city of Houston who refused to comply with the Covid-19 vaccine mandate have resigned or were fired, the media reported.

In a report on Wednesday, The Texas Tribune said that the Houston Methodist, one of the first facilities to require the vaccine, has terminated or accepted the resignations of 153 workers, Xinhua news agency.

In April, Houston Methodist announced the requirement of its staff to get the vaccine by June 7 in order to keep their jobs, reports said.

While 24,947 workers did get vaccinated, the hospital suspended 178 workers who had failed to do so by the deadline, giving them two more weeks to prove they had been immunised.

Twenty-five of those employees did get vaccinated, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Earlier this month, a federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by one of those employees who alleged the policy was unlawful.

Houston Methodist CEO Marc Boom applauded the ruling, saying that "employees and physicians made their decisions for our patients, who are always at the center of everything we do".

Following Houston Methodist's action, a growing number of healthcare organisations in the US have opted to impose vaccine mandates.