ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Former KMOV-TV reporter Kim St. Onge took to social media this week to explain why she hasn't been appearing on the news since late August. She says it's because of the parent company's vaccine mandate.
She joined our partner station, 97.1 FM Talk on The Marc Cox Show to expand on her statement.
"On a meeting, and I vividly remember standing in my kitchen hearing them say, 'We will not mandate this vaccine,'" she says of the station owners, Meredith. "But like so many companies, Meredith went back on that."
She was hired by the station in April 2019. She was told that employees would need to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Aug. 20 and anyone who didn't comply would have to use vacation days until they got a shot or exemption.
She said she qualified for a religious exemption after getting a letter from her pastor, but said she "drew the line" with the company policies she's then have to abide by. She says, they included wearing an n95 mask at all times, twice-per-week COVID tests and "when there’s an on-site meeting I must be onsite, but attend virtually…AKA sit in another room."
She says she was "let go" when she said she wouldn't agree to follow those policies.
"It's very much an Us vs. Them, and you know I did feel very alone. I felt isolated. I felt judged with my convictions," St. Onge says.
What about her future?
"I'll say, it's to be determined. I have a job right now where I'm happy, and I'm gonna be doing that. I'm getting married in April, so I need to figure out my next step. But I'm just kinda taking a breather, this has been a really crazy last couple of months for me," says St. Onge.
© 2021 KMOX (Audacy). All rights reserved
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Follow KMOX
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram