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Mercy to Require All Employees to be Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Mercy Hospital held a press conference on Wednesday announcing they will require all employees to be vaccinated.

Brent Hubbard is the president for Mercy Hospitals across Springfield. Hubbard discussed the policy change, which he said begins July 7 and current COVID-19 in-patient situation. Under the new policy, all current and future co-workers and physicians are required to be vaccinated. He said this current wave is bringing down younger and healthier people.

A press release sent to KRZK states that the new measure is effective Sept. 30. The new requirement is in response to the Delta variant of COVID-19 continuing to spread in Missouri. In the state, Mercy has hospitals and clinics in Joplin, Springfield, St. Louis and other locations. Mercy additionally serves communities in Arkansas and Oklahoma, where “numbers are also increasing due to the Delta variant.”

By requiring co-workers and others who serve and work in Mercy facilities be vaccinated, Mercy is joining more than 20 other health care organizations across the U.S. in recognizing that vaccination serves a common good and protects patients.

Mercy Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. William Sistrunk said that it is “essential that we take these steps in order to protect the health of our co-workers and our patients at Mercy” “As health care leaders in our communities, it is important we set the standard to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Vaccination is our best defense against the virus and already has provided many of our co-workers with the protection they need to care for our patients. Our goal is to ensure the safest possible work environment for our co-workers and patients while also being a part of the effort to stop the spread of the virus in the communities we serve.” Sistrunk said this is a safe and very effective vaccine. He said “it is imperative that we all get vaccinated” to get over the virus.

While delivering his remarks, Dr. Robert Wyrsch addressed those with concerns. He said coworkers and community members should reach out to their primary care physicians. “There may be reasons why a few people should not receive the vaccine, and that’s where your family doctor can be a guide to help you with that.” Prior to opening the floor for questions, he said that there is an exemption policy for Mercy coworkers with medical or religious beliefs keeping them from being vaccinated as well as those employees who are going through a pregnancy. 

Hubbard said morale among employees Mercy is high and inspiring in response to a question about social media “rumor mill” talk about burnout. He added that “our physicians, our coworkers are putting their lives on hold to make sure that our communities are cared for.”

“What we are seeing aligns with the Associated Press analysis of CDC data,” Dr. John Mohart said. Mohart is Mercy’s senior vice president of clinical services. “More than 95% of recent hospitalizations across the U.S. are people who aren’t vaccinated. The data is clear. Vaccination is key to saving lives.”

According to an Ozarks first article, Mercy will require “all current and future employees to be fully vaccinated. In Springfield, there are 120 COVID-19 positive patients. There are 27 patients in the ICU: 23 of those patients are on a ventilator, and three deaths in the last 24 hours.” In addition, throughout the Mercy network, “there are 40,000 employees. The Mercy staff with vaccination is at 75%, and 25% are not vaccinated.”

Both Pfizer and Moderna have applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for full approval of their COVID-19 vaccines. The approval is expected to be given soon. The press release states that “COVID-19 vaccines have been deemed safe and have proven effective with over 171 million Americans already vaccinated.”

(Story by JonChristopher Collins)

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