AMA Supports COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Healthcare Workers

AMA, along with dozens of healthcare organizations, voiced support for COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers in a recent announcement. Cases are increasing across the country as the highly contagious Delta variant takes hold.

Unvaccinated individuals account for almost all COVID-19 hospitalizations currently, according to a recent White House press briefing led by the COVID-19 Response Team.  

“This virus has no incentive to let up, and it remains in search of the next vulnerable person to infect,” Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) director, explained at the July 22nd briefing.

Despite the warnings and proven effectiveness of the vaccines, many healthcare workers remain unvaccinated. In the announcement, AMA urged healthcare and long-term care employers to put vaccine mandates in place.

“This is the logical fulfillment of the ethical commitment of all health care workers to put patients as well as residents of long-term care facilities first and take all steps necessary to ensure their health and well-being,” AMA explained.

CDC’s COVID Data Tracker shows that cases are slowly creeping back up as vaccine adoption plateaus. Just under half of the total US population is fully vaccinated, and 57 percent of the population received at least one dose, according to CDC vaccination data. However, more people will need to get vaccinated to prevent additional surges.

“It is critical that all people in the health care workforce get vaccinated against COVID-19 for the safety of our patients and our colleagues. With more than 300 million doses administered in the United States and nearly 4 billion doses administered worldwide, we know the vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19.” Susan R. Bailey, MD, immediate past president of AMA, stated publicly.

“Increased vaccinations among health care personnel will not only reduce the spread of COVID-19 but also reduce the harmful toll this virus is taking within the health care workforce and those we are striving to serve.”

Vaccine hesitancy is particularly high among long-term care workers. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) recently approved $11 million in funding to support two studies aimed at reducing vaccine hesitancy among long-term care workers.

President Biden is currently considering a vaccine mandate for all federal employees. If it comes to fruition, it could set an example for other institutions.

Yale New Haven, Trinity Health, and New York-Presbyterian, among others, already put a vaccine mandate in place. But others are wary of potential backlash from employees.

Existing hospital staffing shortages continue to worry healthcare leaders as well, and a vaccine mandate might exacerbate the problem. Over 150 people at Houston Methodist in Texas resigned or were fired after refusing to comply with the hospital system’s vaccine mandate.

Despite some concerns, AMA and other major organizations say it is crucial to encourage vaccination wherever possible, especially among healthcare workers. The AHA’s public statement maintained a similar sentiment.

The organization stressed that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and critical to keeping individuals safe, and healthcare workers should get vaccinated to protect their patients and communities.

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) also expressed its support for vaccine mandates for healthcare personnel, in a press release emailed to RevCycleIntelligence.

“AMGA members, which provide care for one in three Americans, are seeing firsthand that unvaccinated individuals are at the highest risk for acquiring COVID-19 and represent the vast majority of new hospitalizations related to the disease,” the press release stated.

“Vaccinating their employees now as we move toward full FDA approval of the currently available vaccines can dramatically reduce the risk of transmission to their patients and communities.”