Health industry grapples with COVID vaccine mandates
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As coronavirus vaccines become less scarce, employers such as nursing homes and hospitals are debating whether to require their employees to be vaccinated, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Health care workers often interact with the members of society most vulnerable to severe coronavirus infections, making a particularly strong case for vaccine mandates.
- But a much broader array of employers are also considering mandating the shots, meaning this debate will likely play out well beyond the health care industry.
- As vaccines become less scarce, the debate is gaining steam.
State of play: At least a half-dozen long-term care companies have announced imminent vaccine mandates, per the Post.
- Houston Methodist last week became the first health system in the country to announce that vaccination would be mandatory for its workers.
- But other hospitals are being more cautious, instead trying to encourage workers to get vaccinated.
By the numbers: Around six in 10 health care workers support their employer requiring the vaccine. A little more than four in 10 said they'd oppose such a requirement, according to a recent Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll.
- One in six said they would leave their jobs rather than get vaccinated.
The big picture: "Everybody is thinking about it," Lorraine Martin, president of the National Safety Council, a group of 16,000 U.S. businesses and organizations, told the Post. "A lot of companies are calling each other, trading notes, trying to land in the right place."
