OhioHealth announced Tuesday it will require the COVID-19 vaccine for its associates, providers and volunteers.
In a news release, OhioHealth said the deadline for its 35,000 employees to become vaccinated is Dec. 1. The requirement also includes employed and independent physicians, those in both patient-facing and non-patient-facing roles, students and vendors.
“What we know for certain is that all three available vaccines are safe and effective in preventing hospitalization and death from COVID-19,” Amy Imm, vice president of Quality and Patient Safety, said in the release.
According to the release, more than 50 other health systems in the nation are requiring the vaccine for caregivers and staff. Additionally, OhioHealth will require employees to receive a flu vaccine, though religious and medical exemptions may be granted.
“The data tells the real story here and that is, if you look at all the deaths from COVID-19 in the last few months, 99 percent of them were among people who were not vaccinated,” Joe Gastaldo, medical director of Infectious Diseases, said in the release. “These deaths are largely preventable and that’s a real shame for the thousands of families and friends who have lost a loved one to COVID-19.”
For more information or to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine, visit the OhioHealth website.
