Syracuse VA workers ordered to get Covid-19 shots as infections, deaths surge nationwide

Syracuse VA Medical Center

The Syracuse VA Medical Center David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com

Syracuse, N.Y. — All Syracuse VA Medical Center medical employees must get fully vaccinated against Covid-19 within eight weeks.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday it is making Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for all VA health care workers nationwide including doctors, dentists, nurses, physician assistants, optometrists, foot doctors and chiropractors.

The move by the VA comes at a time when Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths are rising nationwide because of the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The vast majority of the new infections are among unvaccinated people.

The VA is the second Syracuse hospital to require employee vaccinations. St. Joseph’s Health, which is part of Trinity Health, announced an employee vaccination mandate early this month. Crouse and Upstate University hospitals have not mandated shots for workers.

“Whenever a veteran or VA employee sets foot in a VA facility, they deserve to know that we have done everything in our power to protect them from Covid-19,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a prepared statement.

The American Medical Association and more than 50 other leading health care groups issued a joint statement Monday supporting Covid-19 mandates for all hospital and nursing home workers nationwide.

“Vaccination is the primary way to put the pandemic behind us and avoid the return of stringent public health measures,” the statement said.

James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com

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