Mayo Clinic: Nearly 99% of staff comply with vaccine requirement

(ABC 6 News) – Monday was the deadline for Mayo Clinic employees to receive their COVID-19 vaccine or face termination from the company. Tuesday, Mayo Clinic said nearly 99% of employees were in compliance with the requirement.

The full statement reads:

The deadline for Mayo Clinic employees to become compliant with Mayo’s required vaccination program was Jan. 3. This means staff were required by Jan. 3 to receive at least one dose of vaccine and not be overdue for a second shot, for Moderna and Pfizer. Only medical or religious exemptions were granted.

As Mayo Clinic shared on Jan. 3, staff continued to get first doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 3 to become compliant with the required vaccination program. Several staff also received their first doses the weekend before Jan. 3. As these vaccinations were being administered and processed on Jan. 3, final numbers were not yet available for required vaccination program compliance.

Some media reports have included incorrect estimates for the number of staff being released from employment as a result of noncompliance with the required vaccination program. While final numbers are still not available, nearly 99% of staff across all Mayo Clinic locations have complied with the required vaccination program, meaning they have been vaccinated or have received medical or religious exemptions. This means that approximately 1% of staff across all locations will be released from employment as a result of the required vaccination program. This is comparable to what other health care organizations have experienced in implementing similar vaccine requirement programs. The majority of medical or religious exemption requests were granted.

While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors and communities safe. If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings.

Based on science and data, it’s clear that vaccination keeps people out of the hospital and saves lives. That’s true for everyone in our communities – and it’s especially true for the many patients with serious or complex diseases who seek care at Mayo Clinic each day.

Mayo Clinic is deeply grateful to our staff who are working tirelessly and showing tremendous dedication to delivering the highest level of care to our patients in extremely challenging circumstances. With the rising wave of infections from the omicron variant, Mayo Clinic also urges all who are not vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible. And if you are eligible for a booster, Mayo Clinic urges you to get a booster as soon as possible to help protect your health and the health of everyone around you.