Johns Hopkins Medicine is taking an essential step in protecting the health of patients, staff and the surrounding community with a new policy requiring clinical and non-clinical personnel to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 1, 2021.
A day after Maryland hospitals said they would start requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment, consumer groups, businesses and retail associations in the state said they would not rush to make the same decision.
UMMS President and CEO Dr. Mohan Suntha said in a statement: We follow the science, and the scientific evidence tells us that from a safety and efficacy standpoint, COVID-19 vaccines represent a dramatic accomplishment and a clear pathway out of this pandemic. As health care professionals, we accept that we hold ourselves to a higher standard and we embrace our mission to devote ourselves to the welfare of those in our care. COVID-19 vaccines are by far the best way to stop the spread of the virus, and given our ethical obligation to our patients, we must take every appropriate measure to keep our hospitals and other locations as safe as possible.
Anne Arundel Medical Center won’t join a group of major Maryland hospitals that plans to require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment by the end of the summer.