A spokesperson for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) confirmed to Voice of Philadelphia that the hospital will require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

According to a memo sent to employees on Thursday, CHOP has not yet finalized its plan to perform the tasks. Dan Diamond of The Washington PostBut since more than 70% of hospital patients are not yet eligible for vaccination, officials said that authorization is needed to counter the “increasing threat of the more infectious variant of Delta”.

The US Food and Drug Administration has not approved a coronavirus vaccine for children under 12 years of age.Cited by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health on July 22 Increased cases of Delta variants in children At the same time, residents are strongly urged to wear masks indoors, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.

According to an internal memo obtained by the Washington Post, since November 2020, CHOP has held several staff meetings to address questions and concerns about the coronavirus vaccine. In the memo, hospital officials cited the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing severe cases of COVID-19 and “concerns about the development of potentially more contagious variants in the future” as additional reasons for performing the task.

“The health and well-being of our community is at the forefront of the mission of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and we believe we have a responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves, especially our young patients,” public relations expert Camillia Travia told the Voice of Philadelphia. After consultation with our clinical experts, we are currently preparing to implement vaccine requirements for all employees in any CHOP location.”

CHOP’s initiative to implement vaccine authorization was a few weeks later St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital The announcement will require all hospital employees—except those with approved medical or religious exemptions—to be vaccinated by September 9. According to reports, employees who have not been vaccinated will take two weeks of unpaid leave. Report from business appeal, And those who have not started the vaccination program during this period will be fired.

Paul A. Offit, director of the CHOP Vaccine Education Center, expressed disappointment at the increase in new cases due to the delayed vaccination rates across the United States A report by the Washington Post on July 13.

“One thing that makes me very upset is that we hit a wall,” Offfitt told the newspaper, “what would you do? I think the only answer to this question is that you force people to get vaccinated. Of course it is Legal. Isn’t it your inalienable right as a U.S. citizen to catch and spread potentially fatal infections.”

In May, the University of Pennsylvania Health System became one of the first health systems to develop vaccine authorizations. All employees and clinical staff who are not approved for medical or religious exemptions must receive injections by September 1.

This is a developing story and will be updated.