/ Modified jul 21, 2021 12:34 p.m.

Banner to require COVID-19 vaccines for staff

The health care system is giving employees about three months to get vaccinated.

360 vaccine syringes A bundle of syringes at a COVID-19 vaccination site at Tucson Medical Center. January 2021.
AZPM Staff

Updated July 21, 2021

Banner Health announced that it will require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November 1st as a condition of employment.

Banner officials said they are putting the requirement in place for a number of reasons including, “the rise of the Delta variant, the pending lift of the Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, the need to protect its patients and workforce, and to prepare for the flu season. In addition, national data shows that 97 percent of hospitalizations and 99 percent of COVID-19 deaths are in the unvaccinated.”

Many hospitals already require employees to receive a host of immunizations, like the flu shot, as a term of employment.

Northwest Healthcare, which currently runs three hospitals in southern Arizona and a number of emergency clinics, said in a statement it is not requiring staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at this time.

Last month, Governor Doug Ducey banned state universities from requiring students and staff be vaccinated.

In April, Ducey issued an executive order banning local governments from the same but did allow health care institutions to require patients and staff to show proof of vaccination status.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona