Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Tiny Percent Of Health Workers Fired, Quit Or Suspended Over Vax Mandates
AP: Colorado Healthcare System Fires 119 Unvaccinated Workers
The University of Colorado’s health system fired 119 employees for not adhering to their vaccine requirement without a religious or medical exemption. That accounts for less than 0.5% of the company’s of their 26,500 employees around the state, said UCHealth spokesperson Dan Weaver. UCHealth employees had until Oct. 1 to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or apply and receive an exemption. Among those fired, 54 employees were from the Denver region, 33 from northern Colorado and 32 from the southern part of the state. (10/5)
Fox Business: Kaiser Permanente Suspends More Than 2,200 Workers For Ignoring Vaccine Mandate
Kaiser Permanente has suspended more than 2,200 employees who have not yet gotten vaccinated, according to reports. The workers, who make up between 1% and 2% of the health care company’s nationwide workforce, have been placed on unpaid administrative leave, according to FOX 2 in the Bay Area. The company announced the vaccine mandate in August and said this week that employees will have until Dec. 1 to get the vaccine or they could be fired. (Stimson, 10/6)
Detroit Free Press: 400 Henry Ford Health Workers Quit Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
About 400 workers have walked off the job at Henry Ford Health System rather than take a required COVID-19 vaccine, the Detroit-based hospital system said Tuesday. Another 1,900 workers, however, got exemptions from the health system’s vaccine requirement. The workers who have left comprise about 1% of the workforce of 33,000 people, said Bob Riney, chief operating officer for the five-hospital chain. (Erb, Jordan Shamus and Wells, 10/5)
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KHN: California Vaccine Mandate Extends To Aides For People With Disabilities
Workers in adult and senior care facilities and in-home aides have been added to the list of California health workers who must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Those who work directly with people with disabilities — such as employees paid through the state’s regional center network, aides contracted by agencies, and in-home support service workers who don’t live with the person they assist — are now included in the vaccine mandate. This new group must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30. (Fortier, 10/6)
