VA demands COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday became the first major federal agency to require healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as the aggressive delta variant spreads across the country and some communities report a worrying increase in hospitalizations among unvaccinated people. .

The VA’s decision came on a day when nearly 60 major medical and healthcare organizations appealed to healthcare facilities to demand their workers get vaccinated. There is no federal law against employers requiring vaccinations, but like mask mandates, the issue has been politicized in a society divided over public health issues.

“With over 300 million doses administered in the United States and nearly 4 billion doses administered worldwide, we know that vaccines are safe and highly effective in preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19,” said Dr. Susan Bailey, former president of the American Medical Association, said in a statement. “Increasing vaccinations among healthcare workers will not only reduce the spread of COVID-19, but will also reduce the harmful toll of this virus among healthcare workers and those we strive to serve. “

While vaccination among doctors is almost universal – 96% according to a WADA survey – this is not the case for many other people working in healthcare facilities. In nursing homes, only about 60% of staff are vaccinated, compared to about 80% of residents, according to recent Medicare figures. And COVID-19 cases are on the rise.

At the VA, vaccines will now be mandatory for certain medical staff – including doctors, dentists, chiropodists, optometrists, registered nurses, medical assistants and others who work in departmental facilities or provide care. direct to veterans, said VA secretary, veterans secretary Denis McDonough. .

Employees will have eight weeks to be fully immunized.

“This is the best way to keep veterans safe, especially as the Delta variant is spreading across the country,” McDonough said in a statement. “Anytime a veteran or VA employee walks into a VA facility, they deserve to know that we have done everything in our power to protect them from COVID-19.

“With this mandate, we can once again make – and keep – this fundamental promise,” he added.

It was not known what would happen to VA employees who refuse to be vaccinated. The long-standing policy in the healthcare industry is that staff stay up to date with vaccinations, such as annual flu shots. However, exceptions may be allowed for medical reasons, such as known allergies.

In addition to the AMA, medical and health care groups calling for mandatory vaccines for health workers included the American Academy of Nursing, the American Public Health Association, the American Pharmacists Association and, for the first time times, a nursing home industry group. LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit nursing homes and senior care facilities, had previously advocated educating nursing home workers about the benefits of getting vaccinated. The National Medical Association, the primary professional group representing black physicians, also joined the call.

“Unfortunately, many health and long-term care workers are still unvaccinated,” the groups said in a statement. “We support the growing number of experts and institutions that support the demand for universal vaccination of health workers. “

Earlier this year, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said current federal laws do not prevent an employer from requiring that employees physically entering the workplace be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has strongly encouraged vaccinations as a way to slow the pandemic and save lives. However, the agency did not recommend that state or local authorities, or employers, make vaccination of their employees mandatory.

“The policy is really tricky because President Biden hasn’t ordered mandatory vaccinations for federal workers,” said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University. “And it would seem hypocritical for the CDC to make this recommendation” to businesses or to state and local authorities, he said.

To complicate matters, COVID-19 vaccines have yet to gain full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. They continue to be provided as part of an emergency use authorization and the lack of full approval has fueled some hesitation.

Still, the FDA’s emergency approval process was thorough and did not ignore the extensive testing required for any vaccine. Of the three vaccine makers approved in the United States, Pfizer and Moderna have requested full approval, and a decision from Pfizer is expected shortly.

COVID-19 vaccines were also not prepared overnight. They were the result of over 10 years of behind-the-scenes research and huge infusions of funds that laid the groundwork for them to be deployed so quickly.

LeadingAge CEO Katie Smith Sloan said it’s time to move beyond the power of persuasion. “As COVID-19 variants emerge and proliferate, we can start saving more lives today by ensuring staff are fully immunized,” she said.

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AP Health Writer Mike Stobbe in New York contributed.

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