ATLANTA — Georgia Healthcare workers have now run out of time to get vaccinated. March 15 was the last day for employees to get their second vaccine or risk losing their jobs under a federal mandate.
Early on, the federally imposed mandate did cause some worry among the medical community that facilities would lose employees during such a critical time. However, some on the frontlines say the requirement has not proved as difficult as previously anticipated.
“What I’ve noticed from my experience here in the ER has been that the nursing staff and physicians have been on board with getting vaccinated. Initially there was some hesitancy – but the hesitancy came more from a visceral reaction to someone telling you what to do," explained Atlanta ER Doctor Mehrdod Ehteshami.
Many healthcare systems across the state set department mandates ahead of the federal one, including PruittHealth. Officials said as of Wednesday, they have a 97% employee vaccination rate and they've only lost a total of 450 staff members for refusal to get vaccinated.
"PruittHealth mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for its staff, effective Oct. 1, ahead of the federal mandate announcement... staffing remains a concern, but not due to our or the federal government’s vaccine mandate. As such, the federal deadline is a 'non-event' for our operations," said PruittHealth CEO Neil L. Pruitt, Jr.
As of Monday, Northside Hospital Network is reporting just over 99% compliance with employee COVID vaccinations, adding that the remainder represents those with approved exemptions.
Piedmont Healthcare also set an earlier deadline for their workers. They said their employee vaccination rate also sits at 99% losing only a minimal number of employees due to failure to comply.
There is one exemption for the vaccine mandate. Medical workers who have an employee approved waiver based on medical religious reasons are not required to show proof of vaccination. Under the federal mandate, they had to qualify for that waiver by Tuesday's deadline.