Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Safety Rules Issued By OSHA To Protect Health Workers In 'Grave Danger'
Modern Healthcare: OSHA Releases COVID-19 Healthcare Worker Safety Requirements
Health providers must start paying employees for time to get vaccinated and recover from any side effects under an emergency temporary standard order from the Biden administration. They'll also have to put in physical barriers where social distancing isn't possible. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's standards put new enforcement teeth on prior recommendations, and may add administrative burden and costs to health systems. (Gillespie, 6/10)
Roll Call: OSHA Issues Safeguards For Health Workers, But Goals For Others
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, after months of delay, released standards to protect essential workers from COVID-19 Thursday, but those policies were scaled back significantly to apply only to health care settings. In a major win for corporate lobbyists, OSHA issued separate guidance that offers largely unenforceable recommendations for other high-risk workplaces. (Kopp, 6/10)
KHN: Labor Department Issues Emergency Rules To Protect Health Care Workers From Covid
Labor Department officials on Thursday announced a temporary emergency standard to protect health care workers, saying they face “grave danger” in the workplace from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The new standard would require employers to remove workers who have covid-19 from the workplace, notify workers of covid exposure at work and strengthen requirements for employers to report worker deaths or hospitalizations to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (Jewett, 6/10)
In related news about protecting workers from covid —
CBS News: Hospitals Across U.S. Are Requiring Workers To Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Tens of thousands of medical workers across the U.S. are being told they must get vaccinated against COVID-19 to stay employed. The scenario is well underway in Texas, where nearly 200 hospital workers have been suspended without pay by Houston Methodist, the first hospital system in the nation to require the shots. Houston Methodist — a major medical center and six community hospitals — said nearly 25,000 of its workers were fully immunized against the coronavirus by Monday's deadline. While Houston Methodist was first to make the move, a slew of other medical institutions are following suit. Health care workers in Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania face looming deadlines to get fully immunized against a virus that's killed nearly 600,000 Americans. (Gibson, 6/10)
Indianapolis Star: Community Health Network To Require COVID-19 Vaccinations For Staff
Community Health Network is the latest hospital system to announce that it will require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. On Thursday, the health system said that all employees will be required to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 15. The requirement applies to vendors, contractors and volunteers who work at Community locations, hospital officials said. “The evidence is clearer every day that those who are vaccinated very rarely pass the virus to others,” said Dr. Ram Yeleti, chief physician executive for Community Health Network, in an emailed news release. “We have an obligation to the patients who put their health in our hands to create the safest environment possible.” (Rudavsky, 6/10)
CBS News: Goldman Sachs Asking Returning Workers To Say If They've Been Vaccinated
Goldman Sachs is requiring that bankers and other employees tell the financial firm whether they are vaccinated before returning to the office. The investment bank has started bringing some of its 20,000 U.S.-based employees back, with most workers expected to return by June 14. Employees who had not yet submitted their vaccination status received a memo earlier this week explaining that "registering your vaccination status allows us to plan for a safer return to the office for all of our people as we continue to abide by local public health measures." The memo said it is "mandatory" that workers indicate if they've gotten their shots via a company app by noon on June 10. (Cerullo, 6/10)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Companies, Retailers Say They Won’t Make COVID-19 Vaccinations Mandatory For Workers, At Least Not Yet
A day after Maryland hospitals said they would start requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment, businesses, retail associations and consumer groups in the state said they would not rush to make the same decision. The exception might be in nursing homes, where the coronavirus ravaged staff and residents in the early weeks and months of the pandemic, accounting for much of the state’s early death toll. At least one in Maryland already has imposed immunization requirements on workers. (Miller and Cohn, 6/11)
In other news about safety on the job —
USA Today: Amazon, Safety Council Join Forces To Combat Common Workplace Injuries
The National Safety Council and Amazon announced a partnership Thursday aimed at cutting musculoskeletal injuries, common workplace injuries including sprains and tears, hernias, carpal tunnel syndrome and back pain. The goal of the campaign is to better understand how musculoskeletal disorders develop and find ways to prevent them. Amazon will contribute $12 million to NSC, the largest corporate donation made to the consumer and workplace safety nonprofit in its 108-year existence, said Lorraine Martin, the president and CEO of the National Safety Council. (Avery, 6/10)
