(ETH) – MSN is reporting that Medical groups representing millions of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health workers on Monday called for mandatory vaccinations of all U.S. health personnel against the coronavirus, framing the move as a moral imperative as new infections mount sharply.
“We call for all health care and long-term care employers to require their employees to be vaccinated against covid-19,” the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association and 55 other groups wrote in a joint statement shared with The Washington Post. “The health and safety of U.S. workers, families, communities and the nation depends on it.”
According to a report from The Hill, another statement was made “Due to the recent COVID-19 surge and the availability of safe and effective vaccines, 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 American Medical Association,
American Nurses Association and over 50 other health groups said in a statement on Monday. “This is the logical fulfillment of the ethical commitment of all health care workers to put patients as well as residents of long-term care facilities first and take all steps necessary to ensure their health and well-being.”
Despite working with vulnerable people, many staff at long-term care facilities are not vaccinated. ProPublica reported last week that only 59 percent of workers at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities had at least one shot, citing government data.
According to Business Insider, a February report by the health nonprofit Surgo Ventures found 15% of the approximately 1,300 healthcare workers offered the vaccine said they had turned it down. A recent ProPublica investigation found 40% of workers in nursing homes — places that suffered particularly high death rates from COVID-19 last year — have not gotten a shot.
Vaccine hesitancy is resulting in a resurgence of COVID-19 in the country, according to the Biden administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reporting an average of about 40,000 daily new cases of COVID-19.
The highly contagious Delta variant accounts for most new cases, according to CDC director Rochelle Walensky. The American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association were not immediately available for additional comment.