Top medical groups say all health workers should be vaccinated

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The coalition of US medical groups urged all health care employers to implement mandatory vaccination for all their respective workers.
• The coalition asserted that getting the shots is a “logical fulfillment of the ethical commitment.”
• Millions of US adults have yet to get the vaccines.

A group of leading US medical associations announced on Monday that health care companies and employers should enforce mandatory vaccination to all their workers amid the resurgence of COVID-19 infections nationwide.

“As the health care community leads the way in requiring vaccines for our employees, we hope all other employers across the country will follow our lead and implement effective policies to encourage vaccination,” the joint statement from 56 health care associations read.

“The health and safety of U.S. workers, families, communities, and the nation depends on it,” it added.

Among the groups included in the coalition are the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Surgeons and the American Public Health Association.

The coalition asserted that mandating COVID-19 vaccination across all health care workers is the “logical fulfillment of the ethical commitment” to all their patients.

“Our health care organizations and societies advocate that all health care and long-term care employers require their workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” the joint statement wrote.

Some of the reasons why Americans were skeptic on getting the shots include the hasty development of the drugs and the false information spreading on social media.

Recently, over 150 employees from a Houston hospital, who declined to take the vaccine, were fired or had resigned from their post following a court ruling that rejected a lawsuit against the required vaccination.

Even a GOP official, Gov. Kay Ivey (AL.), criticized the unvaccinated residents due to the rise of virus cases.

“But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks… It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down,” she said.

While it is true that the vaccines were swiftly made and got emergency use approval, ongoing trials and studies proved that they are effective against the virus and generally safe to consume.

Millions of Americans have yet to obtain the shots as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread rapidly. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 60 percent of the US adult population had been fully vaccinated.

Source: NBC News