CLEVELAND — Approximately 750 Cleveland Clinic employees have been placed on unpaid leave after not complying with the mandate to get either their first dose of an mRNA vaccine or their one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Jan. 27.
The deadline came after the Supreme Court's decision earlier this month to allow the Biden administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most health care workers in the U.S.
"We are proud that the vast majority of our caregivers chose to comply with the mandate. In fact, 99% of our more than 65,000 U.S. employees complied with the CMS rule by either receiving the vaccine or being granted an approved exemption. Approximately 750 caregivers were not compliant and were placed on an unpaid leave of absence," the Clinic told 3News in a statement.
In December, Cleveland Clinic suspended its vaccine mandates for caregivers after a federal judge put in a preliminary injunction against the Biden Administration. Health care workers had been able to provide patient care service regardless of vaccination status prior to Friday's announcement.
"As a health system, if we do not comply with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccination requirements, this would have a direct and extraordinary impact on our ability to care for patients, including potentially limiting critical health services we can offer," the Clinic added in its statement.
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