Mercy begins asking all employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine

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Mercy Health officials announced Wednesday that all employees will be required to have a COVID-19 vaccine by September 30. The new requirement comes as COVID-19 cases increase in communities in northeastern Oklahoma and Arkansas, health system officials said. The delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly in Missouri, with Mercy having hospitals and clinics in Joplin, Springfield, St. Louis and other sites. Mercy officials said they are seeing the real-world protective effect that vaccines provide, and that the majority of Mercy patients who were recently hospitalized with COVID-19 have not been vaccinated. “What we’re seeing is consistent with the Associated Press’s analysis of the CDC data,” said Dr. John Mohart, senior vice president of clinical services at Mercy. “More than 95% of recent hospitalizations across the United States are people who have not been vaccinated. The data is clear. Vaccination is key to saving lives.” Mercy officials said they will work with co-workers to develop a compliance plan before the deadline. Mercy is a health system that includes dozens of acute and specialty care hospitals as well as more than 700 doctors and outpatient clinics in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, according to its website. With more than 44,000 employees, SM health officials announced in June that they are requiring team members to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by late September. Video linked above: SSM Health is asking employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine

Oklahoma City –

Mercy Health officials announced Wednesday that all employees will be required to have a COVID-19 vaccine by September 30.

The new requirement comes as cases of COVID-19 are increasing in communities in northeastern Oklahoma and Arkansas, health system officials said. The delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly in Missouri, with Mercy having hospitals and clinics in Joplin, Springfield, St. Louis and other sites.

Mercy officials said they are seeing the real-world protective effect that vaccines provide, and that the majority of Mercy patients who were recently hospitalized with COVID-19 have not been vaccinated.

“What we’re seeing is consistent with the Associated Press’s analysis of the CDC data,” said Dr. John Mohart, senior vice president of clinical services at Mercy. “More than 95% of recent hospitalizations across the United States are people who have not been vaccinated. The data is clear. Vaccination is key to saving lives.”

Mercy officials said they will work with co-workers to develop a compliance plan before the deadline.

Mercy is a health system that includes dozens of acute and specialty care hospitals as well as more than 700 doctors and outpatient clinics in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, according to its website. It has more than 44,000 employees.

SSM Health officials announced in June that they are asking team members to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by late September.

Video linked above: SSM Health is asking employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine

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