VA requires COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs connected Monday became the archetypal large national bureau to necessitate wellness attraction workers to get COVID-19 vaccines, arsenic the assertive delta variant spreads and immoderate communities study troubling increases successful hospitalizations among unvaccinated people.

The VA’s determination came connected a time erstwhile astir 60 starring aesculapian and wellness attraction organizations issued a telephone for wellness attraction facilities to necessitate their workers to get vaccinated.

At the VA, vaccines volition beryllium present mandatory for specified wellness attraction unit — including physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, registered nurses, doc assistants and others who enactment successful departmental facilities oregon supply nonstop attraction to veterans, said VA Secretary Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough.

Employees volition person 8 weeks to get vaccinated.

“It’s the champion mode to support veterans safe, particularly arsenic the delta variant spreads crossed the country,” McDonough said successful a statement. “Whenever a seasoned oregon VA worker sets ft successful a VA facility, they merit to cognize that we person done everything successful our powerfulness to support them from COVID-19.

“With this mandate, we tin erstwhile again marque — and support — that cardinal promise,” helium added.

The aesculapian and wellness attraction groups issuing a telephone for mandatory vaccines included the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Nursing, the American Public Health Association and, for the archetypal time, a nursing location manufacture group. LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit nursing homes and elder attraction facilities, had antecedently advocated educating nursing location employees astir the benefits of getting their shots.

“Unfortunately, galore wellness attraction and semipermanent attraction unit stay unvaccinated,” the groups said successful a statement. “We basal with the increasing fig of experts and institutions that enactment the request for cosmopolitan vaccination of wellness workers.”