Despite protests, more hospitals are requiring employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations

Undeterred by a few protests, hospitals are increasingly requiring employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 After some controversy in Houston, hospitals are quietly taking the lead in requiring employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19. David Heath USA TODAY

The largest health care system in Indiana has emerged as the second U.S. hospital group facing pushback for requiring COVID-19 vaccines for all employees, despite a federal judge tossing out a lawsuit filed by resistant Houston hospital workers.

Hundreds of employees demonstrated outside one of the IU Health hospitals on a recent Saturday afternoon, and another protest is planned for July 11. 

Houston Methodist hospital system also remains in the national spotlight for forcing out 153 employees this week who refused to get vaccinated. ... 

Yet across the country, little fanfare has greeted the dozens of hospitals that have quietly begun following Houston Methodist’s lead. Many predict that if the FDA gives full approval to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines soon, as expected, there could be a tsunami of hospitals signing on.  

Some of the most prestigious hospitals in the nation have joined the trend, including Johns Hopkins Hospital, New York-Presbyterian, Mass General Brigham and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, nearly all hospitals in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Connecticut have announced plans to require vaccines.

One difference is that while Houston Methodist and IU Health both made terminations the consequence of refusing to get vaccinated, other hospitals are taking a softer approach. Maryland hospitals, led by the University of Maryland’s 13hospitals and Johns Hopkins’ four hospitals, will require employees to be vaccinated by Sept. 1. Unlike at Houston Methodist, there was no talk at this point of firing workers. 

“There's not a sanction for noncompliance with the vaccine requirement,” said Bob Atlas, president and CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association. “Anybody who's not vaccinated will be required to get COVID tests.” 

Atlas said that could change in Maryland, however.  ...