California Orders All Healthcare Workers to be Fully Vaccinated by Sept. 30
The new state law is a switch from last month’s declaration by the Governor, giving healthcare workers a choice to vaccinate or be tested weekly.
Photo via Adobe, by hafakot
California is currently experiencing the fastest increase in new COVID cases since the beginning of the pandemic, averaging 18.3 new cases per 100,000 people per day, reports CBS News. Most of the cases are attributed to the new Delta variant. The swell has caused the state to rethink its earlier decision to allow healthcare workers the choice of either getting vaccinated or submitting to weekly testing.
With the new order, there is no choice. Healthcare workers must be fully vaccinated, per law, by Sept. 30, with exceptions for religious and medical reasons.
“We are once again on a dangerous precipice that demands both our fortitude and our goodwill to protect loved ones and neighbors,” said Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association. “California’s healthcare workers are being called upon as they have through every step of the pandemic to lead the charge in the battle between vaccine and variant.”
The new mandate applies to workers in most healthcare facilities, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, psychiatric hospitals, adult day healthcare centers, dialysis centers, hospice facilities, and clinics and doctor’s offices.
Visitors to healthcare facilities will have a tougher time getting in, as well, as the state issued a separate order requiring facilities to verify all visitors have either been vaccinated or tested negative at least three days beforehand.
Government employees are impacted, too, and even with stricter implications. Approximately 5,000 staffers of the Los Angeles County Superior Court have been ordered to be fully vaccinated or be fired. They must show proof of vaccination no more than 45 days after the FDA gives its final approval to one of the vaccines available in the U.S.
Some local California governments are tightening their rules, too. In Los Angeles County, some 110,000 workers have until Oct. 1 to be vaccinated. The order does not specify penalties for employees who refuse.
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