America's Essential Hospitals, which represents more than 300 safety-net hospitals in the U.S., is urging members to require employee COVID-19 vaccination.
The industry trade group joins the American Hospital Association, which said July 21 that it supports hospitals and health systems that adopt mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies, with local factors and circumstances shaping whether and how organizations implement the policies. The Association of American Medical Colleges also has endorsed vaccine requirements for employees at medical schools and teaching hospitals.
"With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, spiking infection rates, and persistent gaps in vaccination that put millions of people at risk nationally, we urge our member hospitals to require vaccination for their employees, for their protection and the safety of patients," Bruce Siegel, MD, president and CEO of America's Essential Hospitals, said in a July 21 news release.
As new cases increase across the U.S., he said the country also faces continuing racial and ethnic inequities in COVID-19 hospitalizations, deaths and vaccination rates.
However, hospitals "can set the example we need to improve those numbers, turn back the pandemic's latest assault, and build equity for all people," Dr. Siegel said.
Read his full statement here.