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CLEVELAND, Ohio – MetroHealth System has joined SummaHealth and a handful of other Northeast Ohio health systems in demanding that employees, including contractors and volunteers, be vaccinated against COVID-19. The deadline is October 30, for employees to be fully immunized, the health system said Thursday.
Vaccinations, however, are not yet required by University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic.
MetroHealth said it was doing it for patient safety. Hospital leaders have full confidence that vaccines are safe, effective and our best protection against this dangerous virus, the hospital system said.
“Protecting caregivers from COVID-19 is the right thing to do,” said MetroHealth President and CEO Dr. Akram Boutros. “Our profession was hailed as heroic because we were there when there was no protection against this disease. We took care of the people and put ourselves in danger. We don’t have to do it anymore. We can and should take care of our patients and ourselves.
More than 80% of MetroHealth’s 7,800 employees are already vaccinated, the hospital said.
MetroHealth already requires annual influenza vaccinations, as well as measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations as a condition of employment. Employees will be allowed to opt out of the COVID-19 vaccine for medical or religious exemptions. Those who refuse the vaccine without medical or religious exemption will be subject to disciplinary action, including dismissal, MetroHealth said.
Earlier this year, MetroHealth announced it would begin requiring unvaccinated employees to undergo weekly testing on July 1. This week, the health system said it had not implemented the plan because it decided that focusing on vaccinations was a better use of resources.
Louis Stokes Medical Center and Akron Children’s have already established vaccination mandates. About 2,200 hospitals nationwide have announced some sort of mandatory vaccination policy, according to the latest figures from the American Hospital Association collected on Sunday. This includes the highly regarded Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate applies to most Veterans Health Administration employees, volunteers, and contractors who work or visit VHA facilities. we announced Thursday. The requirement affects the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and the rest of the Northeast Ohio VA health care system.
Many colleges, national retailers, and other businesses have started requiring vaccines.
The clinic and the UH did not specify when or if they planned to issue a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for employees. The statements the two health systems released recently did not specify what information will be used to make their decision.
Still, many health experts say health facility vaccination mandates help protect hospital workers, keep them healthy enough to stay on the job, protect immunocompromised patients, and help stop the spread. community of COVID-19 at a time when the highly transmissible delta variant is in full swing.
Health experts expect an increase in the number of hospitals announcing vaccination requirements now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full FDA approval this week. Previously, the Pfizer vaccine was distributed under emergency authorization.
At UH, COVID-19 vaccines are strongly encouraged but not mandatory for employees. Unvaccinated employees must wear PPE and practice hand washing and physical distancing, the hospital system said.
“These current practices continue to be effective in protecting employees and patients throughout the pandemic,” UH said. “We continue to closely monitor the incidence of COVID-19 and immunization rates among our employees and in our community to help guide any future changes in our immunization policy. “
Lake Health in Lake County is part of the UH health system and has the same COVID-19 vaccination policy for employees, a spokesperson for UH said.
Mercy Health, which operates two hospitals in Lorain County and elsewhere in Ohio and Kentucky, is “currently in deliberations” over requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for employees, the hospital system said in a statement Thursday. .
“Mercy Health strongly encourages associates to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” the statement read. “Our COVID-19 vaccination clinics are ongoing and we are seeing strong interest in receiving the vaccine from our frontline associates. We are constantly reviewing local, state and national guidelines regarding the requirement for associate vaccination, and we are currently deliberating on this important issue. Every associate who works for Mercy Health is essential to meeting the needs of our patients and our communities. Now and always, the health and safety of our associates is our top priority because they care about our community.
The clinic said, “Right now we are focused on encouraging our caregivers to receive the vaccine, provide education and make the vaccination as accessible as possible. “
This developing story will be updated.
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