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  • Washington Highlights

    AAMC, Health Groups Urge COVID-19 Vaccinations for Health Care Workers

    Contacts

    Allyson Perleoni, Director, Government Relations
    Christa Wagner, Manager, Government Relations

    After issuing its own statement on July 16 supporting mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers at member medical schools and teaching hospitals, the AAMC has joined other health care groups in joint statements supporting vaccine requirements.

    The association joined nearly 60 medical groups on July 26 in a statement organized by Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, vice provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania. The groups — which included the American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and National Association for Home Care & Hospice — called for “all health care and long-term care employers to require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.”

    “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 groups stated.

    The AAMC also joined other hospital groups, including the American Hospital Association, America’s Essential Hospitals, and Children’s Hospital Association, in a July 27 statement issuing a call to all health care personnel to get vaccinated. The groups highlighted the importance of health care worker vaccination for patients and their loved ones, because vaccines “not only provide strong protection against the virus to vaccinated staff, but also reduce significantly the likelihood of inadvertently carrying and spreading COVID-19 to patients and peers.” The groups also called on hospitals to “maintain their ongoing efforts to educate staff and their communities about COVID-19 vaccinations.”