Tacoma health system to require COVID-19 vaccines for all staff as Delta variant spreads
In a new policy, MultiCare on Monday announced it now would require COVID-19 vaccines for all employees this fall, following on the heels of Kaiser Permanente making a similar announcement the same day.
As the Delta variant gains strength across the country, including Pierce County, health care systems have found themselves in the increasingly awkward position of promoting the COVID vaccines while not mandating them for their workers.
In a statement issued Monday, MultiCare said:
“We are working through the details of the program. The flu vaccine has been a condition of employment for several years and we have processes in place to quickly stand up this work. We provide the vaccine free of charge to all employees.”
It added, “Currently, the vast majority of employees across the MultiCare system have been vaccinated but we will continue to offer vaccine education to all employees.”
MultiCare and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health told The News Tribune in July they were not requiring the vaccines for staff, while emphasizing they both strongly encouraged workers to be vaccinated.
VMFH made no changes to its own policy as of Monday.
“Virginia Mason Franciscan Health actively and strongly encourages team members, patients, and individuals in the community to get vaccinated, and has done so since the vaccine was first made available. Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is not a condition of employment at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health at this time,” Cary Evans, vice president for Communications and Government Affairs, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, said in July.
Kaiser Permanente, which has medical operations in Tacoma and the area, announced Monday it would require COVID-19 vaccines among employees and physicians, with “a target date of September 30, 2021, to achieve a fully vaccinated workforce.”
“As the country’s largest integrated care delivery system, we feel it is our responsibility to do everything we can to help bring an end to the pandemic, especially in light of the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases from the highly infectious Delta variant,” said Greg A. Adams, chairman and chief executive officer, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan, Inc., in Monday’s announcement.
“We encourage all health systems and business and industry leaders across the country to play a role in ending the pandemic by doing the same.”
Previously, Kaiser was offering incentives to workers, such as a sweepstakes that included a vacation package to Disneyland and a wellness retreat to Arizona or California.
In Monday’s statement, the health care system said as of July 31, 77.8 percent of Kaiser Permanente employees and more than 95 percent of Permanente Medical Group physicians have been fully vaccinated.
UW Medicine has a mandate in place for staff with exemptions granted for “medical reasons or for religious or philosophical objections,” according to the university.
Kaiser said it would offer “medical or religious exemption.”
It added: “The organization is working with its labor unions on implementation of the employee vaccination mandate and will also coordinate with local, state, and federal laws.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 4:12 PM.
