As CMS' COVID-19 vaccination mandate is in effect nationwide, the agency is allowing flexibility in terms of when healthcare workers are considered fully vaccinated.
The CMS rule, which the Supreme Court upheld Jan. 13, requires healthcare facilities to establish a policy ensuring that eligible workers are fully vaccinated, with exemptions allowed based on religious beliefs or recognized medical conditions. Some states have different deadlines for the rule than others based on the Supreme Court decision and a federal court decision that dismissed a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas.
Healthcare facilities in 24 states covered by the Supreme Court decision faced their first deadline Feb. 14 to comply with the rule. Healthcare facilities in those states must ensure their employees are fully vaccinated (except for those who have received exemptions or for workers for whom the COVID-19 vaccination must be temporarily delayed, as recommended by the CDC) by March 15.
Healthcare facilities in another 25 states faced their first deadline Jan. 27, and they must ensure their employees are fully vaccinated by Feb. 28. Healthcare facilities in Texas must ensure staff are fully vaccinated by March 21.
For purposes of CMS' mandate, the agency considers healthcare workers fully vaccinated if it has been two weeks or more since they completed a primary vaccination series, an agency spokesperson told Becker's.
However, healthcare workers are still considered compliant if they have received their primary vaccination series by the full vaccination deadline, even if they have not completed the two-week waiting period required for full vaccination, the agency said.
CMS defines a primary vaccination series as a single-dose vaccine (such as the Johnson & Johnson shot), or all required doses of a multidose vaccine, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech shot (interchangeable with the licensed Comirnaty vaccine) or the Moderna shot. The agency also said healthcare workers who receive vaccines listed by the World Health Organization for emergency use that are not FDA approved or authorized or are part of a clinical trial are also considered to have completed the vaccination series in accordance with CDC guidelines.
For a state-by-state breakdown of deadlines for compliance, click here.