The New York Times reports, “A group of nearly 60 major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, called on Monday for mandatory vaccination of health care workers.” As the Delta variant “drives a new surge of coronavirus cases, vaccination is an ethical obligation for health care workers, the groups said in a joint statement.” The statement said, “Due to the recent Covid-19 surge and the availability of safe and effective vaccines, our health care organizations and societies advocate that all health care and long-term care employers require their workers to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. This is the logical fulfillment of the ethical commitment of all health care workers to put patients as well as residents of long-term care facilities first and take all steps necessary to ensure their health and well-being.”
The Hill reports, “The health care groups also said they hope all employers will require vaccines for their workers.” They said, “As the health care community leads the way in requiring vaccines for our employees, we hope all other employers across the country will follow our lead and implement effective policies to encourage vaccination. The health and safety of U.S. workers, families, communities, and the nation depends on it.”
McClatchy reports, “More than 50 professional societies and organizations signed a statement Monday urging health care and long-term care employers to require workers to get a vaccine, calling it the ‘logical fulfillment of the ethical commitment’ those who work in health care make to keep patients safe.” the AMA, ANA, and AAP were among the groups who stated, “We stand with the growing number of experts and institutions that support the requirement for universal vaccination of health workers.”
Most health systems in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are reluctant to require COVID-19 vaccinations for workers. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports “a vast coalition of professional medical groups on Monday called for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of all health care workers, while the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that its 115,000 frontline medical workers have eight weeks to get the shots or risk losing their jobs.” With the Delta “variant driving a new surge in infections, unvaccinated workers are ignoring their ethical responsibility, the coalition concluded.” However, “the majority of the nation’s health systems and nursing homes, including those in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have been reluctant to take a tough line on COVID-19 vaccination, even though flu vaccination mandates are standard in the industry.”
From the news release of the American Association for Justice.
