Author: Jerri-Lynn Scofield, he has served as a securities lawyer and derivatives trader.She is currently writing a book about textile craftsmen.

According to today’s Wall Street Journal, after a federal court in Louisiana decided in November to block Biden’s authorization to provide Covid-19 vaccines to healthcare workers, some hospitals have reduced vaccine requirements to alleviate severe labor shortages. problem, Some hospitals abandon Covid-19 vaccination to ease labor shortage.

These hospital chains include Advent Health, Cleveland Clinic, HCA Healthcare Inc, Intermounain Healthcare and Tenet Healthcare Corp. According to the “Wall Street Journal”:

…Labor costs in the industry have soared, and in recent months it has been difficult for hospitals to retain enough nurses, technicians and even janitors to cope with the higher hospitalization rate. Delta variants are all the rageAccording to hospital executives, public health authorities and nursing groups, vaccine regulations have always been a factor restricting the supply of medical staff.

Before the pandemic, many hospitals were already struggling to find staff, including nurses.Shortage is Exacerbated by burnout The temptation among many medical workers Provide high salaries for nurses They travel to hotspots on short-term contracts.

In particular, a large number of nurses voted with their feet, choosing to resign or be fired instead of being stabbed. The Wall Street Journal reported:

Recently, thousands of nurses have left the industry or lost their jobs Instead of vaccination. As of September, 30% of the staff in more than 2,000 hospitals across the country surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Not vaccinated.

“This is a large-scale exodus, and many people in the healthcare industry are willing to shop around,” said Wade Simmons, an employee benefits lawyer and head of Mercer’s US regulatory business. “If you have access to certain unnecessary health care facilities, these facilities may attract people who do not want vaccines. They may be easier to attract labor.”

Some hospital executives appreciated the Federal Court’s decision to cancel the authorization. According to the Wall Street Journal:

Ballad Health operates 21 hospitals in Tennessee and Virginia. The company’s chief executive, Alan Levine, said: “I don’t think these orders are helpful. I think the Louisiana courts provide for everyone Service.”

Mr. Levine said that his company has approximately 14,000 employees, of whom approximately 2,000 have not been vaccinated or applied for an exemption from the requirement. “Many people have to be fired, which is devastating for our system,” Mr. Levine said.

According to the Wall Street Journal, some hospitals continue to urge employees to get vaccinated despite the abolition of the vaccination regulations:

“We continue to strongly encourage our colleagues to get vaccinated, which is a key step in protecting individuals from the virus,” said HCA spokesperson Harlow Sumerford (Harlow Sumerford). He said that most of HCA’s approximately 275,000 employees have been vaccinated.

Not all hospitals have cancelled vaccine requirements. Kaiser Permanente and Northwell Health continued to demand Covid-19 vaccination and fired employees who refused to comply. According to the Wall Street Journal:

Not all hospital systems have completed this task. Kaiser Permanente operates 39 hospitals and hundreds of medical offices in California and other states, and has nearly 210,000 employees. The company said it will vaccinate employees by December 1. Kaiser said that 98% of employees have been vaccinated so far, but the hospital system fired 352 employees on Wednesday, and another 1,500 employees faced dismissal in early January unless they were fully vaccinated or granted an exemption.

Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider in New York State, with 77,000 employees, said Task still existsIn October, Northwell told the Wall Street Journal that 1,400 employees had been fired for refusing to be vaccinated.

I think that given the tight healthcare labor market, most people who have been laid off will be able to find new jobs. But this may depend on the location of these workers. Some states have implemented vaccine requirements, and health care workers must still abide by local laws. Given the shortage of medical staff across the country, I think this possibility is open to those who do not want to be stabbed and relocate accordingly.

Hospitals that suspended vaccine requirements in accordance with the Federal Court’s decision have implemented additional safety measures to try to prevent the spread of Covid-19 disease between employees and patients:

The Cleveland Clinic and Utah hospital giant Intermountain Healthcare, which has 19 hospitals in Ohio and Florida and approximately 65,000 US employees, also said they will suspend vaccine demand after court action. The Cleveland Clinic said it would increase safety measures, For example, regular testing of unvaccinated employees caring for patients. Intermountain stated that 98% of its employees have complied with federal regulations. [Jerri-Lynn here: my emphasis.]

The highlighted phrase shows that even in this later stage of the pandemic, American health care workers are not routinely tested for Covid-19 as a matter of course. In addition, the test question is determined by the hospital or the individual. If this is indeed the practice, it makes me feel crazy-especially considering that we know that even vaccinated people can spread the disease (not to mention, get infected by themselves), sometimes not showing anything. Symptoms, therefore, do not know that they are infected. Should all medical staff, whether vaccinated or not, be tested regularly?

I’m linking to the Guardian today’s article on the shortage of certain types of home test kits in the UK, UK NHS says no more sidestream home test kits are available. I also know that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s gaffe about the rapid test kit last week, Jen Psaki accidentally told the truth about the high cost of rapid Covid testing in the U.S.What is certain is that the testing protocols for health care workers are different. must?