SPOKANE, Wash. — MultiCare will require all staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the fall.
According to MultiCare’s Inland Northwest media relations manager Kevin Maloney, most of the staff is already vaccinated but they will continue to offer vaccine education to all employees.
Maloney also said that they will treat this vaccine similarly to the flu vaccine, which has been a condition of employment for several years.
Many other hospitals in the Inland Northwest has implemented similar policies.
Primary Health, Saint Alphonsus Health System and St. Luke’s Health System all announced that their employees have been given a deadline to either get vaccinated against the infectious respiratory illness or face termination.
Providence currently does not require caregivers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Providence Spokesperson Ariana Lake said their COVID vaccination policy requires caregivers and providers to participate through proof of vaccination or a written declination.
"Our COVID-19 vaccination policy may change over time, as we continue to learn more about the virus, instances in our communities continue and public health recommendations evolve," Lake said. "We are seeing vaccination mandates across the health care industry and it’s something we’re monitoring closely."
Health officials continue to call on those who are not vaccinated to get the shot, as the unvaccinated continue to make up the vast majority of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Members of the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) held a press conference about the rise of the development of the delta variant. They said with vaccines being so readily available, the current surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations is scary, physically draining and emotionally draining for health care workers, who have been dealing with the pandemic for more than a year and a half.