FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif.—Around 60 healthcare workers and Orange County residents gathered Oct. 1 at downtown Fountain Valley, California, to protest the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. The California Department of Public Health issued an order in August requiring all healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30. A recently established organization, America’s Healthcare Workers for Medical Freedom, initiated this “Stop the Mandate Rally”. The rally took place near the intersection of Talbert and Brookhurst in Fountain Valley. The protesters of the rally consisted of MemorialCare workers, patients, and local residents. Nicole Chou, a nurse who works at Orange Coast MemorialCare Medical Center, told The Epoch Times that she came out because the hospital announced in August that the unvaccinated workers may be terminated. She mentioned that she got both doses earlier this year and she had suffered severe side effects following the vaccine. “So basically, they are telling …