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Guided by its values and deep commitment to patients, Mayo Clinic is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or complete a declination process by Sept. 17.
"We are proud of our staff's high vaccination rates and are grateful that the vast majority have embraced the opportunity to get vaccinated," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., Mayo Clinic's president and CEO. "Our patients expect to be safe when they come to Mayo Clinic, and we need to do everything we can to protect everybody."
All Mayo Clinic staff, regardless of work location, are expected to be fully vaccinated or participate in a declination process. Staff who decline to be vaccinated for COVID-19 must complete education modules and will be required to wear masks and socially distance when on campus.
While Mayo Clinic has had high rates of voluntary staff vaccination, Mayo is joining dozens of health systems across the country in requiring vaccination because of increasing cases of COVID-19 nationally, poor vaccination rates in many communities, and the threat of variants. People who have not been vaccinated are at higher risk of severe disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that 99.5% of hospital deaths in the U.S. are from unvaccinated individuals. Those who are unvaccinated also are at higher risk of transmitting disease to others.
"Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 is the single most important thing all of us can do to protect our patients, visitors, colleagues and communities," Dr. Farrugia says.
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For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown in a video without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a nonpatient care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.
For more information and all your COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.
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