DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- Leaders of the Dallas VA Medical Center are embracing a new order from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requiring all medical personnel to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
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"Over 82 percent of my staff have already taken it voluntarily," said Dr. Stephen R. Holt, Director of VA North Texas Health Care System. "They're seeing people getting sick, they're seeing people die. They're seeing people with the long-term consequences of not being able to function normally after COVID."
He estimates less than 1,000 of the 6,000 staffers in the north Texas region have not received the vaccine. For the medical staff that deals directly with patients, he estimates between 100 and 200 have not been fully vaccinated.
The Department of Veterans Affairs says employees will have eight weeks to get vaccinated.
"Our job is to take care of American's heroes, the veterans. One of the important things is to make sure my staff doesn't get sick, because if they get sick they're not available to provide healthcare," Dr. Holt said. "I don't want to be the person who gets COVID and passes it on and kills somebody down the line."
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