HHS is requiring its healthcare workforce to get vaccinated

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The Department of Health and Human Services has become the latest federal agency to mandate vaccinations for its employees.

On Thursday, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that HHS would require the more than 25,000 members of its healthcare workforce to be vaccinated against COVID-19.  

The action will impact more than 25,000 workers at the Indian Health Service, National Institutes of Health and members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Staff at the Indian Health Service and National Institutes of Health who serve in federally-operated healthcare and clinical research facilities and  interact with, or have the potential to come into contact with, patients will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, HHS said. This includes employees, contractors, trainees, and volunteers whose duties put them in contact or potential contact with patients at an HHS medical or clinical research facility.
 
Additionally, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy will immediately require members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of medical readiness procedures to prepare for any potential deployment need as emergency responders.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The move is to increase vaccination coverage and protect more people from COVID-19, including the more transmissible Delta variant, Becerra said.

IHS, NIH and the Commissioned Corps already require personnel to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine and other routine vaccinations, with processes for medical and religious exemptions. All agencies would implement this new COVID-19 vaccination requirement using the same processes that are already in place for these other vaccines, HHS said.

Most U.S. states and jurisdictions are experiencing substantial or high levels of community transmission fueled by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to increase, especially in communities with lower vaccination coverage, the CDC said.
 
At a White House briefing on Thursday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said COVID-19 cases and deaths are up nationwide by more than 20% compared to last week's seven-day average and hospitalizations are up over 30% over the previous week, according to ABC News.

The surge in cases is being driven by the Delta variant, which has been found to be highly transmissible, even among vaccinated individuals.

In July, Walensky said COVID-19 had beomce the "pandemic of the  unvaccinated."

An estimated 54% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated

THE LARGER TREND

HHS is the latest department within the Biden Administration to implement vaccine requirements for its workforce. Recently, the Department of Veterans Affairs required healthcare providers and personnel to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

The Department of Defense announced a plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for its service members in the coming weeks.

Healthcare leaders are calling on business leaders to take action. Last week, public health experts, scientists and former elected officials signed an open letter published in USA Today asking business leaders to create #COVIDSafeZones.

Some of the hesitation among the unvaccinated is that the vaccines being used have received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, and not full approval.

Pfizer is expected to get full approval for its COVID-19 vaccine by Labor Day, according to The New York Times. 

The outbreak of coronavirus infections, including COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections, is associated with large public gatherings, including one in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Following multiple public events in that county, 469 COVID-19 cases were identified among Massachusetts residents who traveled to the Provincetown area July 3-17. Seventy-four percent occurred in fully vaccinated people, the CDC said, with testing identifying the Delta variant in 90%.

ON THE RECORD
 
"Our number one goal is the health and safety of the American public, including our federal workforce. And vaccines are the best tool we have to protect people from COVID-19, prevent the spread of the Delta variant, and save lives," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "As President Biden has said, we have to do all we can to increase vaccinations to keep more people safe. Instructing our HHS health care workforce to get vaccinated will protect our federal workers and the patients and people they serve."

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com