Middlesex Health mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all employees

Photo | Contributed Middlesex Health's flagship facility, Middlesex Hospital in Middletown.

Write a Comment

By Michelle France

Middlesex Health will require all health system employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 1, unless granted a medical or religious exemption or deferral, Middlesex Health said Thursday.

The mandate also applies to members of the medical staff and to volunteers, students, vendors, and contractors, they said.

Middlesex Health is part of a growing number of Connecticut hospitals now requiring their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, particularly as the state and country experience an uptick in infection rates due to the more contagious delta variant.

On Thursday, the state reported a 2.72% daily positivity rate, with 492 more people testing positive for the virus; 155 patients were in the hospital with COVID-19.

The Connecticut Hospital Association, the American Hospital Association, and the American Nurses Association have all come out in support of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers.

“As an organization, we believe this is the right thing to do,” said Middlesex Health President and CEO Vincent G. Capece, Jr. “The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and the decision to mandate vaccinations was made with the health and safety of our patients, staff and visitors in mind.”