MetroHealth says it has 99.9% employee compliance with COVID vax mandate

MetroHealth back in August said all its employees would have to receive COVID-19 vaccinations or request an exemption by Oct. 30. And now that October is over, the results are in — and the health system came about as close as conceivably possible to meeting the goal.

In a news release issued Monday afternoon, Nov. 1, MetroHealth said 99.94% of its 7,700-member workforce is in compliance with the COVID-19 vaccination policy.

The compliance as of Monday breaks down this way:

• Among 7,700 employees, 7,269, or about 94.4%, are vaccinated.

• 426 employees, or about 5.5%, have requested religious or medical exemptions. Those requests “will be reviewed on a rolling basis through the end of the year,” MetroHealth said.

• Five employees have not shared their vaccination status. Those employees “have been suspended without pay for two weeks before separation proceedings begin,” according to the health system. If those employees choose to get vaccinated before then, or prove they already did, “their status will be reevaluated.”

MetroHealth added that in the past two month, 12 employees resigned or retired “and indicated the COVID-19 vaccination requirement was the reason.”

Dr. Akram Boutros, president and CEO of MetroHealth, said in a statement, “I am grateful for each and every member of our team who took this important step to protect the health of their colleagues, patients, families and the community during this once-in-a-generation pandemic. Our employees are simply extraordinary. As an academic medical center, we embrace scientifically proven measures in everything that we do. The COVID-19 vaccination is no exception.”

MetroHealth noted in the release that vaccine requirements for healthcare employees “are nothing new.” The system “already requires annual flu vaccinations, as well as measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations as a condition of employment,” according to the release.

This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain’s Cleveland Business.