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SACRAMENTO, Calif .– California will require all of its approximately 2.2 million healthcare and long-term care workers to be fully immunized against the coronavirus by September 30.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said last month he would require healthcare workers to be vaccinated or tested weekly.
But the new order issued Thursday by the California Department of Public Health does not give healthcare workers a choice. He says everyone must be fully immunized by the end of September.
Newsom tweeted about the new rule on Thursday, but did not say why he decided to change it. The order from the Department of Public Health refers to the delta variant, a new version of the virus that is more contagious and can “cause more serious illness.”
California has an average of 18.3 new cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people per day, with the delta variant causing most new infections. About 63% of Californians 12 and older have been fully immunized. Another 10% were partially vaccinated.
“An increasing number of health workers are among the new positive cases, although vaccinations were a priority for this group when vaccines first became available,” said Dr Tomás J. Aragón, head of public health at California.
Hospitals and other health facilities will also be required to verify that visitors are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19.
The department said that since January, the most common settings for virus outbreaks have been in residential care facilities.
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