DENVER: Members of the State Board of Health voted to demand the COVID-19 vaccine for workers in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities in Colorado.
The board adopted the emergency rule in a 6-1 vote during a virtual meeting Monday. The vote came after public testimony from health care providers, doctors and community members.
All employees, direct contractors, and support staff at 3,800 licensed health centers in Colorado must have received the first dose of vaccine no later than Sept. 30. measure approved.
The vaccine’s mandate comes after a request from Governor Jared Polis, who urged the board to pass rules requiring health workers to be vaccinated, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state , largely due to the highly contagious delta variant.
In a letter sent to the board on Aug. 17, Polis urged board members to immediately consider a vaccination warrant for all people involved in health care and care staff who come in contact and share spaces with vulnerable populations, including patients in need of medical care. medical environments and in coexistence centers for the elderly. ”
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, approximately 30% of the health care staff at these facilities and agencies remain unvaccinated.
“I’d rather protect that freedom of choice than what someone says. You have to get it,” said Giovanna Goldman, a nurse who showed up to protest Monday. “I should have that right, to be able to say yes or no.”
Many of the speakers who took part in the public comment section of Monday’s meeting expressed concern about the possibility of a shortage of additional staff if a vaccine warrant was imposed. The healthcare system is already experiencing staffing challenges in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
“I am concerned about mandates for health care workers regarding my husband,” said Gretchen Samuels, whose husband is a long-term care patient in Colorado. “I feel like they’re short-sighted with this, that this is kind of a knee-jerk response.”
But board members who voted for the measure said they have a duty to protect the most vulnerable patients.
The vaccine requirement affects the following types of health care facilities:
- Acute treatment units
- Outpatient surgical centers
- Assisted Living Residences
- Behavioral health entity
- Birth centers
- Community mental health center
- Community clinic
- Integrated health care in the community
- Services Agency
- Dialysis treatment clinics
- Home Care Agencies
- Home Care Placement Agencies
- Hospice
- Hospitals
- Facilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Residences for the elderly
The mandate does not apply to health care professionals or professionals, nor to other settings in which patients seek medical attention, including primary care consultations and urgent care locations. In addition, each center will have the authority to establish its own criteria for medical and religious exemptions.
The board will meet again in October to vote on the standing rules.