California schools, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Hospitals, Vaccine, Vaccine mandate

Kaiser supports CA student vaccine requirement to protect students, faculty, staff

Kaiser requires its own staff to be vaccinated, calls on other organizations to do likewise

Kaiser is now mandating vaccinations for all its employees. Jason Pierce, Sacramento Bee file.
Kaiser supports governor on student vaccines
Vallejo Times-Herald, by Greg A. Adams, Kaiser Permanente Chair and CEO, October 14, 2021

After a year-and-a-half of this virus controlling and taking away lives, we know that vaccination is the most powerful tool we have to stop this pandemic, to prevent more dangerous strains from developing, and to restore the freedom of safety and normalcy.

COVID Vaccination Required for California School Children – Oct. 1, 2021, Variety

Kaiser Permanente supports California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s strong and timely action today to protect students, faculty and staff who have returned to in-person learning by requiring eligible students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend schools for in-person instruction, once approved by the Food and Drug Administration, beginning in 2022. This is an important step that will protect students and school employees across the state who have returned to full, in-person instruction this school year.

As a health care organization, Kaiser Permanente has an obligation to our 12.5 million members and patients — and to our employees, physicians, and communities to ensure their safety and to protect them from infection.

When we announced our vaccination requirement on Aug. 2, our overall employee and physician vaccination rate was 78 percent. Since then, we have made remarkable progress: Today, 92 percent of our employees have been vaccinated — and the number continues to grow. As part of Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to lead vaccine efforts across the country, we are calling on other organizations, big and small, to mandate the vaccine for their employees, customers, constituents, and other stakeholders.

We deeply appreciate the extraordinary commitment and dedication of all Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians throughout our response to the pandemic, especially those who have been serving on the front lines to fight this deadly virus. We encourage everyone to play a role in ending the pandemic by getting the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.

— Greg A. Adams/Kaiser Permanente Chair and CEO