Sutter Health on Wednesday announced it will require all of its workforce to be vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than the end of September, days after another Northern California healthcare giant revealed similar plans due to the spread of the delta variant.
All Sutter employees, whether they're working onsite at a Sutter facility or providing patient care elsewhere, need to provide proof of vaccination no later than Sept. 30 unless they are granted a religious or medical exemption.
Sutter said its policy extends to physicians and employees, as well as volunteers and vendors.
"The only way to get ahead of this virus once and for all is for everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible," Dr. William Isenberg, Sutter Health's chief quality and safety officer, said in a statement. "The unfortunate reality is that the delta variant is driving a surge in hospitalizations throughout our network and around the country, mostly among unvaccinated people."
Kaiser Permanente on Monday announced it would require all physicians and employees to be vaccinated by Sept. 30. Twice-weekly testing for unvaccinated employees will begin on Aug. 23.
Sutter Health didn't respond to a request for comment from KCBS Radio about its testing policy for unvaccinated workers. We will update this story when we hear back.
Workplaces across the Bay Area and around the country are requiring employees to submit proof of vaccination against COVID-19, and more have done so in light of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending last week that all people, regardless of their vaccination status, wear masks in public indoor settings in areas where the coronavirus is rapdily spreading.
Tech giants like Google, Facebook and Microsoft are requiring employees to submit proof of vaccination, as are Bay Area public schools in Marin County and San Jose.
Vaccination rates stagnated through much of the summer in the U.S., but numbers have slowly increased over the last couple of weeks due to concerns over the delta variant.
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