COVID-19 Vaccines Mandated For All Hackensack Meridian Staff

NEW JERSEY — All employees of the Hackensack Meridian Health System will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by November.

"We are requiring vaccinations for all team members to help stop the spread of this deadly virus and keep our patients, team members and visitors safe," Dr. Daniel Varga, chief physician executive for the hospital system, said in a written statement.

The requirement comes as concerns increase about rising COVID-19 infection rates in New Jersey and across the country, much of which health officials have attributed to the Delta variant. In New Jersey, the transmission rate was 1.24 as of Thursday. There were 307 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 as of Thursday, with 44 in intensive care and 30 on ventilators, according to the state's COVID-19 dashboard.

The hospital system announced the Nov. 15 deadline to be vaccinated to its 36,000 employees in an email, the Asbury Park Press reported.

The hospital system has 36,000 staff members, including 7,000 doctors, and more than 70 percent of the staff is vaccinated, Varga said.

There may be limited exemptions granted for those staff members who have a qualifying medical condition or religious/strongly held belief, a statement from Hackensack Meridian said. Exemption requests have to be submitted no later than Aug. 16, it said.

Other hospital systems locally and around the country have instituted similarly mandates. RWJ Barnabas Healthcare was the first New Jersey system to do so when it made the COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for its staff in May. Read more: RWJ Barnabas Anticipates Requiring COVID Vaccine For All Staff

"Mandatory vaccinations are the best way to achieve herd immunity, and protect our communities from the deadly variants that are threatening to wreak havoc in the months ahead," Varga said. "They’re our best shot at defeating this pandemic once and for all, saving lives and returning to normal."

Hackensack Meridian has 17 hospitals across New Jersey, including Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, and Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. It has 500 additional patient care locations across the state.

"Over the past year, we have used every tool at our disposal to protect patients and team members from COVID-19," Varga said. "COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be safe and highly effective at preventing transmission, hospitalizations and death from the virus."

Click here to get Patch email notifications, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Brick Patch on Facebook.