Texas Health Resources becomes third major healthcare system to mandate vaccinations

The Texas nonprofit faith-based health resources system announced Friday that its 23,000 employees must be fully immunized by September 10, making it the third major employer in North Texas to enforce a mandatory requirement.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread in our communities, demanding vaccinations is the responsible step forward,” said Barclay Berdan, CEO of Texas Health. “We are taking this proactive step as our community faces an increase in cases due in large part to low vaccination rates and the burgeoning delta variant. “

The new variant is 50% more transmissible than the original COVID-19 virus and accounts for more than 80% of current COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Texas, the variant accounts for nearly 46% of cases.

“It’s no different from the mandate we have for the seasonal flu vaccine,” Berdan said in a video message.

The Dallas-based Methodist Health System also compared the COVID-19 vaccine to the flu vaccine when it implemented a warrant Thursday. A day earlier, Baylor Scott & White Health became the first health care system in North Texas to take the plunge.

More than 70% of Texas Health employees are currently vaccinated, Berdan said. The health system will allow exemptions for medical and religious reasons after an internal review. Texas Health has more than 27 hospitals and more than 350 facilities in North Texas.

Arlington-based Texas Health’s new policy differs from other local health care providers by giving workers a September 10 deadline, three weeks ahead of the October 1 deadline set by Baylor Scott & White and Methodist.

Earlier this week, around 60 medical groups called on health systems to make injections compulsory.

More than 70 hospital systems nationwide have now implemented immunization mandates, according to a updated list maintained by Becker Hospital Examination.