AKRON, Ohio — On Thursday morning, Summa Health officials announced that beginning in the fall, the COVID-19 vaccine will be a condition of employment for all workers.
The news comes as Ohio continues to see an uptick in COVID-19 cases once again, reporting more than 2,000 new positive tests on Wednesday, and nearly 2,000 today.
In a statement sent to employees and forwarded to 3News, Summa Health's System Director Mike Bernstein says that employees will have until October 17 to receive the final dose of their COVID-19 vaccine, whether that be Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson.
"We announced this morning internally that we are updating our current vaccination policy to include receiving the COVID vaccine as a condition of employment. Employees must be fully vaccinated – meaning two weeks out from their final dose – by October 31, 2021. This means that they have until October 17 to receive that final dose. There are existing processes in place to allow for people to request medical exemptions, medical deferments and religious accommodations."
Earlier this year, several big-name hospital systems in Northeast Ohio, including MetroHealth, Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals announced that they would not require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.