Dozens of UCHealth employees in Colorado Springs have been laid off due to COVID-19 vaccine requirement

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – More than 100 employees at UCHealth in Colorado are fired for failing to meet hospital system requirements for COVID-19 vaccine. This so far includes at least 32 employees in the Colorado Springs area.

In July, UCHealth set a deadline of 11:59 p.m. on October 1 for all employees to get either one of three available COVID-19 vaccines, or a medical or religious exemption. If the employees didn’t, they were told they would be laid off.

After the announcement, some UCHealth employees told KRDO they were angry with the demand. At least one employee who wanted to remain anonymous said he believed the health care system was taking away their power and rights by not giving them a choice if they wanted to keep their jobs.

UCHealth confirmed to KRDO on Tuesday that 119 employees statewide had been made redundant. That’s about 0.5% of the system’s workforce, according to vice president of communications Dan Weaver.

But even with the layoffs, this has not translated into further staff shortages.

Despite the loss of these employees, UCHealth’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement has helped improve the workforce. With broad vaccination rates, fewer employees test positive for COVID-19 and must be out of work for their recovery, ”Weaver said in a statement.

For more information on getting a COVID-19 vaccine near you, check out this link.