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Nearly 150 employees have left ChristianaCare after refusing to get vaccinated

Sophia Schmidt
/
Delaware Public Media

ChristianaCare implemented a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all its employees in late July.

 

The health system now says its lost around 150 staff members because they did not comply with the requirement.  The deadline to get vaccinated was last week.

 

In a statement, President Janice Nevin says around 50 of those employees provided care directly to patients, and 12 were nurses.

 

The organization says 200 staff received either religious or medical exemptions to the vaccine, and must submit to regular COVID-19 testing.

 

Nevin says while 150 workers left because they refused to get vaccinated, the organization has hired over 160 new caregivers.

 

"We thank everyone who has made the decision to be vaccinated," said Nevin in a statement posted on ChristianaCare's website. "Getting vaccinated is a service to others – especially our health care workers, who continue to battle COVID-19 daily as we meet the health care needs of our community. Vaccination continues to be our path not only to protect each other—but to ultimately reduce the spread of COVID-19 and end this pandemic."

 

ChristinaCare was one of the first companies to require vaccines, before Gov. John Carney implemented a statewide mandate for healthcare workers and state employees.

 

And earlier this month, president Biden ordered all health care systems nationwide to require the vaccine for all workers, with no option for regular testing.

 

But those rules have yet to be finalized, so wether or not religious and medical exemptions will be permitted is still unknown.

 

Roman Battaglia is a corps member withReport for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.

Roman Battaglia grew up in Portland, Ore, and now reports for Delaware Public Media as a Report For America corps member. He focuses on politics, elections and legislation activity at the local, county and state levels.
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