HHS Will Require COVID-19 Vaccines for Its Health Care Workforce
- August 13, 2021
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will require more than 25,000 members of its health care workforce to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the agency said in an August 12 statement.
According to the statement, Indian Health Service and National Institutes of Health employees, contractors, trainees, and volunteers who work in federal health care and clinical research facilities and interact with, or have the potential to come into contact with, patients must receive the vaccine.
Members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps also will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to prepare for any potential deployment need as emergency responders, HHS said.
“Our number one goal is the health and safety of the American public, including our federal workforce. And vaccines are the best tool we have to protect people from COVID-19, prevent the spread of the Delta variant, and save lives,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
President Biden announced July 29 new actions to spur vaccinations for COVID-19, including requiring all federal employees and onsite contractors to attest to their vaccination status. Those who are not fully vaccinated must wear masks on the job, physically distance from others, and comply with a weekly or twice weekly testing requirement.
The move came amid surging COVID-19 infections fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant.
In addition to HHS, the Department of Veterans Affairs is requiring their health care workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Department of Defense also recently announced plans to require COVID-19 vaccination for service members in the coming weeks.