More and more hospitals and major health systems are requiring employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine, citing rising caseloads fueled by the Delta variant and stubbornly low vaccination rates in their communities and even within their work force.

Many hospitals say their efforts to immunize their employees have stalled, in much the same way the nation’s overall vaccination rates are stuck under 60 percent, behind many European countries and Canada. While more than 96 percent of doctors say they are fully vaccinated, according to the American Medical Association, health care workers, particularly in rural areas, have proven more resistant even though thousands of workers have died from the virus and countless more became sick.

One recent estimate indicated that one in four hospital workers were not vaccinated by the end of May, with some facilities reporting that fewer than half of their employees had gotten the shots.

Some hospitals, ranging from academic medical centers like NewYork-Presbyterian and Yale New Haven to large chains like Trinity Health, are going ahead with a mandate because they recognize that the only way to stop the virus is to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. A large Arizona-based chain, Banner Health, announced Tuesday that it would impose a mandate, and New York City said it would require all health care workers at city-run hospitals or clinics to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.

More and more hospitals and major health systems are requiring employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine, citing rising caseloads fueled by the Delta variant and stubbornly low vaccination rates in their communities and even within their work force.

Many hospitals say their efforts to immunize their employees have stalled, in much the same way the nation’s overall vaccination rates are stuck under 60 percent, behind many European countries and Canada. While more than 96 percent of doctors say they are fully vaccinated, according to the American Medical Association, health care workers, particularly in rural areas, have proven more resistant even though thousands of workers have died from the virus and countless more became sick.

One recent estimate indicated that one in four hospital workers were not vaccinated by the end of May, with some facilities reporting that fewer than half of their employees had gotten the shots.

Some hospitals, ranging from academic medical centers like NewYork-Presbyterian and Yale New Haven to large chains like Trinity Health, are going ahead with a mandate because they recognize that the only way to stop the virus is to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. A large Arizona-based chain, Banner Health, announced Tuesday that it would impose a mandate, and New York City said it would require all health care workers at city-run hospitals or clinics to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.

The British Columbia government welcomed 100 firefighters from Mexico on Saturday to help combat hundreds of wildfires raging across the province.

B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth greeted the Mexican firefighters in Abbotsford and provided an update on the province’s wildfire situation.

Source: International, national wildfire crews head to B.C. | CBC News

The health secretary announced on Saturday that he had made a “full recovery” from Covid-19 after falling ill eight days ago, and said: “Please, if you haven’t yet, get your jab, as we learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus.”

Jo Goodman, the co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said Javid’s “comments are deeply insensitive on a number of levels”.

“Not only are they hurtful to bereaved families, implying our loved ones were too cowardly to fight the virus, but they insult all those still doing their best to protect others from the devastation this horrific virus can bring,” she said.

Source: Sajid Javid’s advice to not ‘cower’ from Covid provokes backlash | Sajid Javid | The Guardian