SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees across the country were suspended after not following a COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
Kaiser Permanente made the announcement Tuesday. They said over 2,200 of its nationwide employees have been placed on unpaid administrative leave as of Oct. 4. They added that employees have until Dec. 1 to either get vaccinated or risk losing their jobs.
Sept. 30 was the deadline for health care workers, including assisted living facility workers, to get vaccinated or get an exemption. ABC10 in September checked with major health care systems in the region. Sutter Health, Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health, and UC Davis Health all reported well over 90% of their workforces are already vaccinated. At the time of that report, Kaiser and Sutter both said that employees who are not vaccinated will be placed on unpaid administrative leave starting Oct. 1.
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Kaiser Permanente said, in part, in a statement, "when we announced our vaccination requirement on August 2, our overall employee and physician vaccination rate was 78 percent. Since then, we have made remarkable progress: More than 92 percent of our employees have been vaccinated -- and the number continues to grow."
They added that they hope none of their employees choose to leave their jobs rather than get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Read more ABC10:
- Student COVID vaccinations: California becomes first state to require them for kids 12 and up
- 'He is our entire world' | Roseville family hoping for best after father placed on life support
- California healthcare worker vaccine mandate deadline is here: Now what?
- 12% of Americans will still 'definitely not' get COVID-19 vaccine, survey finds
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