US Hospitals Worry as Vaccine Requirements Arrive

Hospitals and nursing homes around the United States are worried about possible shortages of workers as deadlines arrive for health care employees to get vaccinated¹ against COVID-19.

The orders take effect this week in states like New York, California, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Many in the medical industry are concerned that some employees will refuse vaccination² and have to be dismissed from their jobs.

"How this is going to play out, we don't know," said California Hospital Association spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea. She added that the organization fully³ supports the state's vaccination requirement.

New York sees an increase in vaccination

Faced with either getting the COVID-19 vaccine⁴ or losing their jobs, thousands of health care workers in New York received at least one shot by Monday's deadline.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul released numbers late Monday showing vaccination rates rising among the state's health care workers. The governor said early data showed 92 percent of hospital and nursing home workers received at least one shot of vaccine.

About 84 percent of over 450,000 hospital workers in New York were fully vaccinated as of last Wednesday, state data showed. Nursing home data through Sunday showed about 89 percent of nursing home workers were fully vaccinated.

Hochul also signed an order that expands the powers of her office to deal with health worker shortages. The measure permits medical professionals from outside New York to work in the state. It also eases restrictions⁵ on retirees returning to the workforce⁶ and permits the use of telemedicine in nursing homes.

Some New York hospitals prepared for the possible shortage with plans to limit non-critical services and nursing home admissions.

Deadlines coming up in other states

In California, health care workers have until Thursday to get fully vaccinated. Some hospitals are looking at removing or suspending those who refuse to meet the requirements. Emerson-Shea of the California Hospital Association said that many healthcare workers have rejected job offers in the state because of its vaccine requirement.

In Rhode Island, the vaccine requirement takes effect Friday. The state says hospitals may permit unvaccinated employees to work 30 days past the deadline if necessary for patient safety. The requirement is facing legal action because it does not provide religious exception.

In states that do not have vaccine requirements, some hospitals are setting their own.

A North Carolina-based hospital system said this week it had dismissed 175 of its more than 35,000 employees because they refused vaccination.

In Missouri, the Mercy hospital system is requiring vaccinations⁷ among health care workers by Thursday. A spokesman said violators will be placed on a 30-day unpaid⁸ suspension.

Rural hospitals worry

Around the country, the federal government also requires about 17 million workers at health centers that receive federal money to be fully vaccinated. That has worried some hospital officials in rural communities where vaccination rates tend to be lower.

Troy Bruntz is president of the Community Hospital in McCook, Nebraska. He said 25 of the hospital's 330 employees said they would resign if they were required to be vaccinated. Another 100 unvaccinated employees — a group that includes nurses as well as cleaning and support workers — have not made a decision on the requirement.

"It doesn't make us feel too confident that this isn't going to turn into something short of a nightmare for American health care," he said.

Worker plans to leave

Ginger⁹ Robertson works in mental health at a hospital in Bismarck, North Dakota. She has requested exception from the hospital's vaccination requirement based on her religious beliefs. She said she will look for other work if she does not get the exception.

"Honestly, I really love my job. I am good at it. I enjoy my patients. I enjoy where I am at," she told the Associated Press. "So," she continued, "this is a really hard place, to have to choose between two things I don't want to do. I don't want to leave, and I don't want to get the vaccine."

She said other nurses are also considering leaving. "We feel demoralized," Robertson said, adding "as though we aren't intelligent enough to make these choices for ourselves."

Words in This Story

nursing home - n. a place where old people or those who cannot take care of themselves can live and receive care

deadline - n. a date or time when something must be finished

minimize - v. to make something less important

challenge - n. a difficult task or problem

nightmare - n. a very bad situation

demoralized - adj. losing hope

1 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

2 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

9 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。