The Real Reason Steve Burton Was Fired From General Hospital

In a recent video post to his Instagram, Steve Burton confirmed that he has been fired from "General Hospital" as a direct result of his refusal to be vaccinated from COVID-19. He also shared that his applications for medical and religious exemptions were both denied, something that he said "hurts." He emphasized that his decision is about "personal freedom" and said that he doesn't believe "anyone should lose their livelihood over this." 

Burton first joined the cast of "General Hospital" in 1992 and, according to IMDb, he appeared in a total of 2,284 episodes of the series, prior to his firing. In his Instagram video, Burton said that he "will always be thankful for [his] time at 'General Hospital'" and later suggested that he could return to the series, but only if the vaccine mandates were "lifted." Despite Burton's comments, recent developments in the world of Hollywood suggest that vaccine mandates are only likely to get stricter (via The Hollywood Reporter). In fact, one producer recently told The Hollywood Reporter, "We will not engage with anyone who is not vaccinated."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend that people receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, and emphasizes that the vaccines offered by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are safe and effective (via CDC.gov).