JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — *The above video was published July 24.
Mayo Clinic is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or complete a declination process by Sept. 17, the company stated in an article on its website.
"We are proud of our staff's high vaccination rates and are grateful that the vast majority have embraced the opportunity to get vaccinated," Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, Mayo Clinic's president and CEO, stated in the article. "Our patients expect to be safe when they come to Mayo Clinic, and we need to do everything we can to protect everybody."
All Mayo Clinic staff, regardless of work location, are expected to be fully vaccinated or participate in a declination process, the article states. Staff who decline to be vaccinated for COVID-19 must complete education modules and will be required to wear masks and socially distance when on campus.
Mayo Clinic said eating and drinking may only take place for unvaccinated staff when alone or socially distanced. Staff who are not compliant with the required COVID-19 vaccination program, by completing vaccination or the additional training by September 17, can be placed on unpaid leave.
Mayo Clinic said about 95% of its physicians have already been vaccinated and overall staff vaccination rates range from 75 to 85 percent across Mayo Clinic sites. They say they hope this new measure will push more employees to be vaccinated.
Mayo Clinic isn’t alone. It is one of dozens of other health systems requiring staff vaccinations, like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Mercy Hospital.
Baptist Health sent First Coast News a statement regarding requiring vaccinations for staff. The hospital says it has not yet mandated employees to vaccinated, but it is considering the option:
"We are carefully assessing if and when we will make COVID vaccination mandatory at Baptist Health. We have pulled out all the stops to encourage vaccination, answer questions, and provide reliable information to help people make an informed decision. We continue to prioritize safety as we monitor FDA approval status as well as recent endorsements of mandates by the AHA, AMA, ANA and other reputable sources."
Also on Monday, the VA issued a mandate requiring all hospital workers to be vaccinated. Employees will have eight weeks to receive their vaccine.