A COVID-19 vaccine requirement for employees of Central Peninsula Hospital is moving forward again, following a Thursday decision from the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a federal mandate for healthcare workers.
That mandate was first announced last fall and applies to facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments. Central Peninsula Hospital spokesperson Bruce Richards said that's about half of all revenue for the hospital.
Court challenges delayed the mandate from taking hold. Richards said at the time, about 70 percent of the hospital’s 1,240 staff were fully vaccinated.
But Thursday, the Supreme Court said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does have the authority to require vaccines for healthcare employees, since that requirement would protect the health and safety of patients.
Richards said the first dose deadline for those who choose to be vaccinated is Jan. 27. The deadline for the second dose is Feb. 28.
“We’ll reach out to the employees and the staff and we'll continue that policy and pick it up where we left off," he said.
Employees can also put in for medical or religious exemptions.
Central Peninsula Hospital employees seeking religious exemptions must tell employee health they have a sincerely held religious belief and sign their name, Richards said.
Separately, the Supreme Court struck down a vaccine mandate that would have extended to employees of large workplaces. The court said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not have the authority to make that mandate.
