More hospitals poised to require COVID-19 vaccines

Experts say more hospitals are likely to require staff to be given a COVID-19 vaccine to further protect the sick and vulnerable patients who depend on their care.

A Houston area hospital made headlines after taking a firm stance on the need for vaccines to prevent serious illness from the coronavirus that has killed more than 600,000 people in the US and devastated the economy.

Houston Methodist employees who rejected the vaccine were either fired or resigned. A judge sided with the hospital earlier this month and dismissed a staff lawsuit aimed at blocking mandatory vaccination. The ruling could give other hospitals the green light to require vaccination, and as more facilities adopt similar policies, others are likely to follow suit, experts said.

It’s “a trickle that turns into a stream,” Ashish Jha, professor and dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, wrote on Twitter Thursday.

A trickle that turns into a stream

3 major Massachusetts health systems that require vaccination of all workers

Given the critical need to protect vulnerable patients, it is vital in all hospitals

Leading systems will soon. Latecomers will get there at some point https://t.co/3cjtt627I5

– Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) June 24, 2021

The growing spate of vaccination orders includes a variety of systems and hospitals, including Mass General Brigham in Boston, BJC Healthcare in St. Louis, and Inova Health System in Virginia.

Some of the largest health systems in the country have yet to make admission, including Kaiser Permanente and CommonSpirit Health.

“Vaccination will only be required for Kaiser Permanente employees if a state or county in which we operate requires the vaccine for healthcare workers,” the company said in an email.

The American Hospital Association continues to hear that a growing number of its members are in need of the vaccine, with a few exceptions. However, many member hospitals are waiting for full FDA approval, a time when more safety and efficacy data are being made available.

“Vaccination is especially important for health professionals as they work with patients with underlying health conditions whose immune systems may be weakened,” the AHA, which did not comment on the requirement, said in a statement.

The mandates raise ethical questions, some say, pointing to the profession’s “no harm” promise.

Arthur Caplan, director of medical ethics at New York University School of Medicine, said the codes of ethics doctors and nurses put in place to put patients first, do no harm and protect the weak.

“Of course they should be vaccinated,” he said. “If you don’t want to get vaccinated, I think you’re in the wrong job.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said labor law doesn’t prohibit employers from getting the trick, and essentially gives employers the green light to create incentives and requirements for their workers. The EEOC is the federal authority responsible for ensuring that jobs are not discriminated against.

Some states go against the grain by signing laws banning vaccine mandates, including Florida. The city of San Francisco requires hospital workers and workers in high-risk environments to receive the vaccine. San Francisco, like other employers and universities, requires that all city workers be vaccinated.

The different political attitudes across the country create additional hurdles for companies with a large presence.

source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/more-hospitals-poised-to-require-covid-19-vaccines/