Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health will soon require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the first, and largest employers in New Hampshire to make such a requirement.
The requirement, which will go into effect on Sep. 30, will apply to all staff, including employees working remotely and per diem. Starting in the fall, the approximately 13,000 employees will be required to either provide proof of vaccination or submit a request for a medical or religious exemption.
“As New Hampshire’s largest provider of health care and the state’s largest private employer, we must lead by example in the arena of public health,” said Joanne Controy, the CEO and President of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health in a press release.
Other healthcare providers may soon follow Dartmouth’s lead. On Monday morning, the New Hampshire Hospital Association said they support the adoption of mandated COVID-19 vaccine policies for employees at New Hampshire’s medical facilities.
Vanessa Stafford, a spokesperson for the association said while Dartmouth is the first large healthcare provider to publicly announce their mandate, internal pushes to require the shot are happening behind the scenes at hospitals across the state.
In a video message to Dartmouth-Hitchcock staff, Conroy said more than 80% of the healthcare system have already been vaccinated. This is far higher than New Hampshire’s vaccination rate overall, which hovers just above 50%.
“While the great majority of our employees have been vaccinated, some of our colleagues remain unvaccinated,” Conroy said. “We take very seriously our obligation to protect the health and well-being of our patients and their families, our community and one another.”
Administrators cited the highly contagious Delta variant as the primary reason for the vaccine mandate. Cases in New England have been steadily on the rise since the beginning of July, in large part because of this variant, which now comprises more than 70% of sampled cases.
The approved COVID-19 vaccines are still remarkably effective against the variant. A study out of the United Kingdom found that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were about 96% effective at preventing hospitalization due to the Delta variant. Another study published in the Lancet published similar results. Scientists who have performed laboratory experiments on the Moderna vaccine concluded it was 72% effective against the variant, though more research needs to be done.
A recent study from the Josiah Bartlett Center found that, according to New Hampshire state data, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 99% of New Hampshire’s COVID-19 cases and 98% of deaths.
Several large employers across the country have similarly mandated the COVID -19 vaccine. Google, Facebook, the National Football League, several state governments, the federal government, and, most recently, Tyson Food have all imposed vaccine requirements.
“Many regional and national organizations representing medical professionals have recently stated their support for mandated COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers to control the spread of this deadly disease…,” said Steve Ahnen, president of the New Hampshire Hospital Association. “This is absolutely something we support in an effort to protect both our patients and our employees from COVID-19.”