ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Chesterfield-based Mercy Health announced on Wednesday it will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 30 – it was the last of all major health care providers in the region to add the policy.
Mercy employees more than 40,000 people in the area and right now it has 75% of its staff fully vaccinated.
“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," said Dr. John Mohart, Mercy’s senior vice president of clinical services.
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The first major area health care sysemts to announced vaccine requirements for employees were BJC HealthCare and Washington University. Since then, St. Luke’s Hospital and SSM Health have made similar announcements.
Mercy says a majority of its COVID-19 patients in the hospital have not been vaccinated.
“It is essential that we take these steps in order to protect the health of our co-workers and our patients at Mercy,” said Dr. William Sistrunk, Mercy infectious disease specialist. “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."
You can read the full announcement, here.
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